Published in

Royal College of General Practitioners, British Journal of General Practice Open, 4(5), p. BJGPO.2021.0037, 2021

DOI: 10.3399/bjgpo.2021.0037

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Embedding brief interventions for alcohol in general practice: a study protocol for the REACH Project feasibility trial

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Red circle
Postprint: archiving forbidden
Green circle
Published version: archiving allowed
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

BackgroundAlcohol is a major source of harm in Australia that disproportionately affects low-income communities. Alcohol brief interventions (ABIs) combine an assessment of a person’s alcohol use with advice to reduce health risks. Despite their effectiveness, ABIs are not routinely performed by clinicians. This article presents a protocol for a feasibility trial of pragmatic implementation strategies and a new set of resources to support clinicians to complete ABIs in Australian general practices.AimTo explore the facilitators and barriers to increasing the uptake of ABIs in primary care, including acceptability, reach, adoption, fidelity, and sustainability.Design & settingA mixed-methods evaluation of the uptake of ABIs in general practice clinics serving low-income communities in Melbourne, Australia. The approach is informed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and Normalisation Process Theory (NPT).MethodThe implementation strategies and resources will be trialled in five general practices over 12 months. The primary outcome will be change in the proportion of adult patients with a complete alcohol history in their electronic medical records. Baseline data collection includes a practice survey to describe practice routines for ABIs and de-identified patient medical record data on completed alcohol histories (repeated at 3, 6, 9, and 12-months post-intervention). Survey and interview data will also be collected from clinicians, patients, and primary health network staff to assess acceptability and feasibility of the intervention.ConclusionThe study will explore how the implementation strategies and resources can improve alcohol screening and management among low-income patients in general practice.