Extrait

Background and study aims Alcohol is a major global threat to public health. Although the main burden of long-term alcohol-related disease is in adults, its foundations often lie in adolescence. Alcohol consumption and related harm increase steeply from the age of 12 until 20 years. Several studies focusing upon young people have reported significant positive effects of brief interventions on alcohol consumption. A recent assessment of reviews also suggests that electronic brief interventions (eBIs) using internet and smartphone technologies may also markedly reduce alcohol consumption. Interventions that target non-drinking youth are known to delay the onset of drinking behaviours. Web based alcohol interventions for adolescents also demonstrate significantly greater reductions in consumption and harm among ‘high-risk’ drinkers; however changes in risk status at follow-up for non-drinkers or low-risk drinkers have not been assessed in controlled trials of brief alcohol interventions. This study is made up of two parts and aims to look at the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. The first part focus on high-risk adolescent drinkers attending Emergency Departments (ED) and the other will focus on those identified as low-risk drinkers or those who don’t drink but attending the same ED. Who can participate? Adolescents aged 14-18 who are high-risk drinkers attending an ED and low-risk or non-drinkers attending an ED. What does the study involve? After agreeing to take part, participants are asked to fill out a questionnaire using an iPad. The questionnaire asks about their diet, the exercise they take, whether they smoke and whether they drink alcohol. The questionnaire also asks about their health in general and how often they use health and social services. The questionnaire takes less than 15 minutes to complete, but for most people it should take around 5 minutes. Participants can choose to skip past questions or decide not to complete the questionnaire once they have started. The questionnaire is confidential and their answers are not be passed on to their parents/carers or doctors. Participants can complete it on their own, or ask for support from a member of the research team if something is not clear to them. Participants receive a £5 gift voucher for their time after completing the questionnaire. After they complete the questionnaire, some people are also be given some information about alcohol. Sometimes a researcher gives them this information and other times they might also be given information on a smartphone app. The information is given on the same day whilst they are in the Emergency Department and it takes no more than 15 minutes. Participants are contacted again two weeks later to ask them how they found taking part in the project. A member of the research team also contacts them to ask similar questions in 6 and 12-month time. This is either by phone or in person, depending on their preference. They receive a £5 gift voucher for their time after completing each follow up. What are the possible benefits and risks of participating? There are no direct benefits or risks involved with participating. Where is the study run from? St Thomas’ Hospital and nine other NHS hospitals in England (UK) When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for? March 2014 to February 2017 Who is funding the study? National Institute for Health Research (UK) Who is the main contact? Dr Paolo Deluca [email protected]

Critère d'inclusion

• Topic: Mental Health, Injuries and emergencies; Subtopic: Addictions, Injuries and Emergencies (all Subtopics); Disease: Addictions, Addictive Substances– alcohol, Injuries and Emergencies

Liens

• ictrp
• isrctn