PRIMARY CARE INTERVENTION FOR ALCOHOL ABUSE

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An investigation of 450 individuals with alcohol abuse or dependence is proposed in order to examine the effects of a primary care alcohol abuse intervention and a patient education program on ambulatory patients' blood test results, drinking patterns, health problems, and psychosocial consequences of drinking over a period of 18 months. Patients in a predominantly Hispanic, outpatient family practice clinic will be screened for the presence of alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence. Those who screen positive and who agree to participate in the study will be randomly assigned to one of these experimental groups: Physician- Intervention, Intervention-plus-Education, or N0-Intervention. Physician- Intervention subjects will receive a standardized alcohol abuse intervention from their physicians; Intervention-plus-Education subjects will receive the Intervention plus a referral to a 6-week series of patient-education classes focusing on alcohol abuse; No-Intervention subjects will receive routine medical care from their physicians, with no standardized intervention and no referral to classes. Data collected at enrollment and 6, 12, and 18 months post-enrollment will be used to assess the following aims: 1.To assess whether alcohol abusing patients who receive the Intervention have improved blood test results, health problems, and psychosocial consequences, and decreased alcohol consumption compared to patients who did not receive the Intervention. 2.To assess whether alcohol abusing patients who participate in patient- education classes have improved blood test results, health problems and psychosocial consequences, and decreased alcohol consumption, compared to patients who were not referred to classes. 3.To examine ethnic and sexual differences in intervention and patient education outcomes (defined by changes in blood test results, health problems, psychosocial consequences and alcohol consumption).