Brief Intervention to Reduce Injury in Minorities

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Injuries; Alcohol Related Disorders
• Interventions: Behavioral: Brief intervention based on motivational interviewing; Behavioral: Standard Care including referral for treatment

• Registration Number: NCT00132262
• Lead Sponsor: The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and ethnic differences of a brief alcohol intervention for injured patients.

Detailed Description

Injuries are not isolated events or one time occurrences and injury has been identified as an important public health problem. Among the risk factors associated with injury and injury recidivism, the most widely recognized is alcohol use with approximately 50% of all injuries associated with alcohol. In general, alcohol use and drinking patterns vary by ethnicity, with frequent heavy drinking and associated problems more common among Blacks and Hispanics. Blacks, in general, suffer a disproportionate level of alcohol problems, despite having higher rates of abstention than Whites and Hispanics. Hispanics also generally suffer more alcohol-related problems than whites. Overall, injury recidivism is higher among poorer, minority populations and among individuals who abuse alcohol. The efficacy of brief alcohol interventions in the emergency care setting such as hospital emergency departments and trauma care centers is a relatively new area of research. Brief alcohol interventions appear to reduce alcohol intake and rates of injury following hospitalization; however, there is a need to evaluate the efficacy of these brief interventions in various ethnic groups. The proposed research involves a randomized controlled trial of a brief alcohol intervention based upon motivational interviewing and harm reduction to reduce alcohol consumption and injury following admission to an emergency room or trauma department for treatment of an injury. The primary aim of the proposed project is to determine the efficacy of this intervention as applied in the trauma care and emergency room setting among Whites, Blacks and Hispanics. The three outcomes of interest include:

1. alcohol consumption as measured by number of standard drinks consumed per week and

2. frequency of drinking five or more drinks per occasion engagement in injury related risk behaviors and

3. injury recidivism rates

It is hypothesized that the brief alcohol intervention will have a greater impact on alcohol consumption, injury related risk behaviors and injury recidivism among Whites than Blacks and Mexican Americans. In addition, it is hypothesized that the brief alcohol intervention will have less of an impact on alcohol consumption, injury related risk behaviors and injury recidivism among Mexican Americans born in the United States than among those born in Mexico after controlling for acculturation, acculturation stress and sociodemographic characteristics.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2003-05
• Study First Submitted: 2005-08-16
• Study First Submitted QC: 2005-08-17
• Study First Posted: 2005-08-19
• Primary Completion: 2006-08
• Study Completion: 2012-12
• Status Verified: 2013-01
• Last Update Submitted: 2013-01-29
• Last Update Posted: 2013-01-30

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 1493

Inclusion Criteria

• Admission for treatment of an injury
• Self identification of Black, White or Hispanic Ethnicity
• Age > 17
• Screen positive for potential alcohol related injury based upon clinical indication of alcohol use prior to injury including positive blood alcohol concentration, self report of alcohol use prior to injury, heavy drinking or drinking beyond normal limits as defined by NIAAA

Exclusion Criteria

• Glasgow Coma Score or GCS < 14
• Admission for self inflicted injury

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: FACTORIAL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
1	Brief intervention based on motivational interviewing	Patients randomized to this arm received an intervention based in the motivational interviewing style
2	Standard Care including referral for treatment	Patients randomized to this arm received standard hospital care

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
alcohol intake	six months and one year
injury recidivism	six months and one year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
alcohol problems	six months and one year
injury related risk behaviors	6 months and one year