Cost-effectiveness of a programme of screening and brief interventions for alcohol in primary care in Italy

Development of culturally-appropriate text message booster content to follow a brief intervention focused on reducing alcohol related harms for injury patients in Moshi, Tanzania

Alcohol use is a risk factor for death and disability and is attributed to almost one-third of injury deaths globally. This highlights the need for interventions aimed at alcohol reduction, especially in areas with high rates of injury with concurrent alcohol use, such as Tanzania. The aim of this study is to create a culturally appropriate text messages as a booster to a brief negotiational intervention (BNI), to in the Emergency Department of the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Moshi, Tanzania. Creation of text message boosters for an ED-based intervention expands the window of opportunity for alcohol use reduction in this high-risk population. The study followed a two-step approach to create the text message content in English and then translate and culturally adapt to Tanzanian Swahili. The culturalization process followed the World Health Organization's process of translation and adaptation of instruments. Translation, back translation, and qualitative focus groups were used for quality control to ensure text message content accuracy and cultural appropriateness. In total, nearly 50 text messages were initially developed in English, yet only 29 text messages were successfully translated and adapted; they were focused on the themes of Self-awareness, Goal setting and Motivation. We developed culturally appropriate text message boosters in Swahili for injury patients in Tanzania coupled with a BNI for alcohol use reduction. We found it important to evaluate content validation for interventions and measurement tools because the intended text message can often be lost in translation. The process of culturalization is critical in order to create interventions that are applicable and beneficial to the target population. Trial registration: Clinical Trials Registration Number: NCT02828267, NCT04535011.

Applying the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to investigate factors of implementing alcohol screening and brief intervention among primary care physicians and nurses in Hong Kong, China: an exploratory sequential mixed-method study

BACKGROUND

Alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) is an evidence-based intervention recommended by the World Health Organization. This study applied the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to understand facilitators and barriers of SBI implementation in primary care settings in Hong Kong, China.

METHODS

This was a sequential mixed-method study. In-depth interviews of 21 physicians and 20 nurses working in the primary care settings from the public and private sectors were first conducted to identify CFIR constructs that were relevant to SBI implementation in the Chinese context and potential factors not covered by the CFIR. A questionnaire was then developed based on the qualitative findings to investigate factors associated with SBI implementation among 282 physicians and 295 nurses.

RESULTS

The in-depth interviews identified 22 CFIR constructs that were facilitators or barriers of SBI implementation in Hong Kong. In addition, the stigmatization of alcohol dependence was a barrier and the belief that it was important for people to control the amount of alcohol intake in any situation was mentioned as a facilitator to implement SBI. In the survey, 22% of the participants implemented SBI in the past year. Factors associated with the SBI implementation echoed most of the qualitative findings. Among physicians and nurses in both sectors, they were more likely to implement SBI when perceiving stronger evidence supporting SBI, better knowledge and self-efficacy to implement SBI, more available resources, and clearer planning for SBI implementation in the clinics but less likely to do so when perceiving SBI implementation to be complicated and of higher cost, and drinking approved by the Chinese culture. Participants were more likely to implement SBI when perceiving SBI fit better with the existing practice and better leadership engagement in the public sector, but not in the private sector. Perceiving a stronger need and greater importance to implement SBI were associated with higher likelihood of SBI implementation among physicians, but not among nurses. Perceiving better organizational culture supporting SBI was positively associated with SBI implementation among nurses, but not among physicians.

CONCLUSIONS

There was a significant gap between SBI evidence and its implementation. Some strategies to improve SBI implementation may be different between physicians and nurses and between those in the public and private sectors. The CFIR is a useful framework for understanding facilitators and barriers of SBI implementation in primary care settings.

Feasibility of a pragmatic randomized adaptive clinical trial to evaluate a brief negotiational interview for harmful and hazardous alcohol use in Moshi, Tanzania

INTRODUCTION

Low-resourced settings often lack personnel and infrastructure for alcohol use disorder treatment. We culturally adapted a Brief Negotiational Interview (BNI) for Emergency Department injury patients, the "Punguza Pombe Kwa Afya Yako (PPKAY)" ("Reduce Alcohol For Your Health") in Tanzania. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a pragmatic randomized adaptive controlled trial of the PPKAY intervention.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This feasibility trial piloted a single-blind, parallel, adaptive, and multi-stage, block-randomized controlled trial, which will subsequently be used to determine the most effective intervention, with or without text message booster, to reduce alcohol use among injury patients. We reported our feasibility pilot study using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework, with recruitment and retention rates being our primary and secondary outcomes. We enrolled adult patients seeking care for an acute injury at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center in Tanzania if they (1) exhibited an Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) ≥8, (2) disclosed alcohol use prior to injury, or (3) had a breathalyzer ≥0.0 on arrival. Intervention arms were usual care (UC), PPKAY, PPKAY with standard text booster, or a PPKAY with a personalized text booster.

RESULTS

Overall, 181 patients were screened and 75 enrolled with 80% 6-week, 82.7% 3-month and 84% 6-month follow-up rates showing appropriate Reach and retention. Adoption measures showed an overwhelmingly positive patient acceptance with 100% of patients perceiving a positive impact on their behavior. The Implementation and trial processes were performed with high rates of PPKAY fidelity (76%) and SMS delivery (74%). Intervention nurses believed Maintenance and sustainability of this 30-minute, low-cost intervention and adaptive clinical trial were feasible.

CONCLUSIONS

Our intervention and trial design are feasible and acceptable, have evidence of good fidelity, and did not show problematic deviations in protocol. Results suggest support for undertaking a full trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the PPKAY, a nurse-driven BNI in a low-income country.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Trial registration number NCT02828267. https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02828267.

Interventions to prevent alcohol use: systematic review of economic evaluations

BACKGROUND

Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for death and disability worldwide.

AIMS

We conducted a systematic review on the cost-effectiveness evidence for interventions to prevent alcohol use across the lifespan.

METHOD

Electronic databases (EMBASE, Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL and EconLit) were searched for full economic evaluations and return-on-investment studies of alcohol prevention interventions published up to May 2021. The methods and results of included studies were evaluated with narrative synthesis, and study quality was assessed by the Drummond ten-point checklist.

RESULTS

A total of 69 studies met the inclusion criteria for a full economic evaluation or return-on-investment study. Most studies targeted adults or a combination of age groups, seven studies comprised children/adolescents and one involved older adults. Half of the studies found that alcohol prevention interventions are cost-saving (i.e. more effective and less costly than the comparator). This was especially true for universal prevention interventions designed to restrict exposure to alcohol through taxation or advertising bans; and selective/indicated prevention interventions, which involve screening with or without brief intervention for at-risk adults. School-based interventions combined with parent/carer interventions were cost-effective in preventing alcohol use among those aged under 18 years. No interventions were cost-effective for preventing alcohol use in older adults.

CONCLUSIONS

Alcohol prevention interventions show promising evidence of cost-effectiveness. Further economic analyses are needed to facilitate policy-making in low- and middle-income countries, and among child, adolescent and older adult populations.

Patient-level interventions to reduce alcohol-related harms in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-summary

BACKGROUND

Disease and disability from alcohol use disproportionately impact people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While varied interventions have been shown to reduce alcohol use in high-income countries, their efficacy in LMICs has not been assessed. This systematic review describes current published literature on patient-level alcohol interventions in LMICs and specifically describes clinical trials evaluating interventions to reduce alcohol use in LMICs.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

In accordance with PRISMA, we performed a systematic review using an electronic search strategy from January 1, 1995 to December 1, 2020. Title, abstract, as well as full-text screening and extraction were performed in duplicate. A meta-summary was performed on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated alcohol-related outcomes. We searched the following electronic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, WHO Global Health Library, and PsycINFO. Articles that evaluated patient-level interventions targeting alcohol use and alcohol-related harm in LMICs were eligible for inclusion. No studies were excluded based on language. After screening 5,036 articles, 117 articles fit our inclusion criteria, 75 of which were RCTs. Of these RCTs, 93% were performed in 13 middle-income countries, while 7% were from 2 low-income countries. These RCTs evaluated brief interventions (24, defined as any intervention ranging from advice to counseling, lasting less than 1 hour per session up to 4 sessions), psychotherapy or counseling (15, defined as an interaction with a counselor longer than a brief intervention or that included a psychotherapeutic component), health promotion and education (20, defined as an intervention encouraged individuals' agency of taking care of their health), or biologic treatments (19, defined as interventions where the biological function of alcohol use disorder (AUD) as the main nexus of intervention) with 3 mixing categories of intervention types. Due to high heterogeneity of intervention types, outcome measures, and follow-up times, we did not conduct meta-analysis to compare and contrast studies, but created a meta-summary of all 75 RCT studies. The most commonly evaluated intervention with the most consistent positive effect was a brief intervention; similarly, motivational interviewing (MI) techniques were most commonly utilized among the diverse array of interventions evaluated.

CONCLUSIONS

Our review demonstrated numerous patient-level interventions that have the potential to be effective in LMICs, but further research to standardize interventions, populations, and outcome measures is necessary to accurately assess their effectiveness. Brief interventions and MI techniques were the most commonly evaluated and had the most consistent positive effect on alcohol-related outcomes.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Protocol Registry: PROSPERO CRD42017055549.

Effects of brief substance use interventions delivered in general medical settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis

AIMS

To estimate effects of brief substance use interventions delivered in general medical settings.

METHODS

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials conducted since 1990 of brief substance use interventions in patients of any age or severity level recruited in general medical settings. Primary outcomes were any measure of substance use or substance-related consequences (indexed with Hedges' g and risk ratios). Mixed-effects meta-regressions were used to estimate overall effects and predictors of effect variability. Analyses were conducted separately by brief intervention (BI) target substance: alcohol only or drugs.

FINDINGS

A total of 116 trials (64 439 participants) were identified; 111 (62 263 participants) provided effect size data and were included in the meta-analysis. Drug-targeted BIs yielded significant small improvements in multiple drug/mixed substance use (Hedges' g (g¯ ) = 0.08; 95% CI = 0.002, 0.15), but after adjusting for multiple comparisons, they did not produce significant effects on cannabis use ( g¯ = 0.06; 95% CI = 0.001, 0.12), alcohol use ( g¯ = 0.08; 95% CI = -0.0003, 0.17), or consequences ( g¯ = 0.05; 95% CI = 0.01, 0.10). Drug-targeted BIs yielded larger improvements in multiple drug/mixed substance use when delivered by a general practitioner ( g¯ = 0.19; 95% CI = 0.187, 0.193). Alcohol-targeted BIs yielded small beneficial effects on alcohol use ( g¯ = 0.12; 95% CI 0.08, 0.16), but no evidence of an effect on consequences ( g¯ = 0.05; 95% CI = -0.04, 0.13). However, alcohol-targeted BIs only had beneficial effects on alcohol use when delivered in general medical settings (g¯ = 0.17; 95% CI = 0.10, 0.24); the findings were inconclusive for those delivered in emergency department/trauma centers ( g¯ = 0.05; 95% CI = 0.00, 0.10).

CONCLUSIONS

When delivered in general medical settings, alcohol-targeted brief interventions may produce small beneficial reductions in drinking (equivalent to a reduction in 1 drinking day per month). There is limited evidence regarding the effects of drug-targeted brief interventions on drug use.

SF-6D utility scores for alcohol use disorder status and alcohol consumption risk levels in the US population

AIMS

To estimate US population health utilities for subgroups defined by alcohol use disorder (AUD) status and consumption level.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey.

SETTING

Community settings in the United States (i.e. excluding institutional settings).

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 36,042 adults (age 18+) in non-institutional settings in the United States.

MEASUREMENTS

We used 12-item Short Form Survey (SF-12) data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III to calculate mean Short Form-6 dimension (SF-6D) utility scores across World Health Organization alcohol consumption risk levels-very high risk, high risk, medium risk, low risk and an additional abstinent level-for three groups: (1) the general population (n = 36,042), (2) individuals with life-time AUD (n = 9925) and (3) individuals with current AUD (n = 5083), and assessed minimally important differences (MIDs) between consumption levels. Each group is a subset of the previous group.

FINDINGS

The general population's mean SF-6D utility was higher than that of individuals with life-time or current AUD across all consumption risk levels (0.79 versus 0.76 for both AUD groups). For all groups, SF-6D utilities increased as consumption risk level decreased to non-abstinent levels, and reducing consumption from very high risk to any lower level was associated with a statistically significant and meaningful improvement in utility. For individuals with life-time or current AUD, becoming abstinent from high-, medium- and low-risk levels was associated with significantly and meaningfully worse utilities.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher alcohol consumption risk levels appear to be associated with lower health index scores for the general population and individuals with a history of alcohol use disorder, meaning that higher alcohol consumption is associated with worse health-related quality of life.

A systematic review of economic evaluations of public health interventions targeting alcohol, tobacco, illicit drug use and problematic gambling: Using a case study to assess transferability

AIMS

To identify and assess the cost-effectiveness of public health interventions targeting the use of alcohol, illicit drugs and tobacco, as well as problematic gambling behavior (ANDTS), and consider whether the results from these evaluations are transferable to the Swedish setting.

METHODS

A systematic review of economic evaluations within the area of ANDTS was conducted including studies published between January 2000 and November 2018, identified through Medline, PsychINFO, Web of Science, the National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database and Health Technology Assessment. The quality of relevant studies and the possibilities of transferring results were assessed using criteria set out by the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment.

RESULTS

Out of 54 relevant studies, 39 were of moderate to high quality and included in the review, however none for problematic gambling. Eighty-one out of a total of 91 interventions were cost-effective. The interventions largely focusing on taxed-based policies or screening and brief interventions. Thirteen of these studies were deemed to have high potential for transferability, with effect estimates considered relevant, and with good feasibility for implementation in Sweden.

CONCLUSIONS

Interventions targeting alcohol- and illicit-drug use and tobacco use are cost-effective approaches, and results may be transferred to the Swedish setting. Caution must be taken regarding cost estimates and the quality of the evidence which the studies are based upon.

Analysis of health habits, vices and interpersonal relationships of Spanish adolescents, using SEM statistical model

The objective of this article is to know the state of health of a sample of adolescents and how it relates to toxic habits and personal relationships. Likewise, it is presented how can influence eating habits, sports practice and interpersonal relationships in their general health status. The research has carried out through a survey of 56 questions to 470 adolescents, between 13 and 18 years old, of both sexes, of different schools in the province of Cordoba, Spain. These results have been subjected to a statistical model widely used in health and social sciences in general, called Structural Equations Model (SEM), through the SPSS program, v. 23 and AMOS. SEM is widely used in the social sciences to estimate regression models (usually multi-equational). The estimated model shows a significant global acceptability based on the usual statistical tests and goodness-of-fit measures. In this regard, these results are: CMIN = 17.554 with 33 degrees of freedom (DF) and a probability level, p = 0.987, which is higher than any reasonable level of significance (α = 0.05, 0.10, even 0.20). Likewise, FMIN = 0.038, CFI = 1.000 and RMSEA = 0.000. The main recommendation of this research aimed at improving good eating and healthy habits, and to avoid toxic habits of adolescents, is to begin the education in the family, in coordination with their school and high school.

Conversations about alcohol in healthcare - cross-sectional surveys in the Netherlands and Sweden

Background

This study evaluated and compared the extent, duration, contents, experiences and effects of alcohol conversations in healthcare in the Netherlands and Sweden in 2017.

Methods

Survey data in the Netherlands and Sweden were collected through an online web panel. Subjects were 2996 participants (response rate: 50.8%) in Sweden and 2173 (response rate: 82.2%) in the Netherlands. Data was collected on socio-demographics, alcohol consumption, healthcare visits in the past 12 months, number of alcohol conversations, and characteristics of alcohol conversations (duration, contents, experience, effects).

Results

Results showed that Swedish respondents were more likely to have had alcohol conversations (OR = 1.99; 95%CI = 1.64–2.41; p = < 0.001) compared to Dutch respondents. In Sweden, alcohol conversations were more often perceived as routine (p = < 0.001), were longer (p = < 0.001), and more often contained verbal information about alcohol’s health effects (p = 0.007) or written information (p = 0.001) than in the Netherlands. In Sweden, 40+ year-olds were less likely to report a positive effect compared to the youngest respondents. In the Netherlands, men, sick-listed respondents, and risky drinkers, and in Sweden those that reported “other” occupational status such as parental leave, were more likely to have had alcohol conversations.

Conclusions

The results suggest that alcohol conversations are more common in healthcare practice in Sweden than in the Netherlands. However, positive effects of alcohol conversations were less likely to be reported among older respondents in Sweden. Our results indicate that alcohol preventative work should be improved in both countries, with more focus on risky drinkers and the content of the conversations in Sweden, and expanding alcohol screening in the Netherlands.

Alcohol consumption's attributable disease burden and cost-effectiveness of targeted public health interventions: a systematic review of mathematical models

Background

Around 6% of total deaths are related to alcohol consumption worldwide. Mathematical models are important tools to estimate disease burden and to assess the cost-effectiveness of interventions to address this burden.

Methods

We carried out a systematic review on models, searching main health literature databases up to July 2017. Pairs of reviewers independently selected, extracted data and assessed the quality of the included studies. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus. We selected those models exploring: a) disease burden (main metrics being attributable deaths, disability-adjusted life years, quality-adjusted life years) or b) economic evaluations of health interventions or policies, based on models including the aforementioned outcomes. We grouped models into broad families according to their common central methodological approach.

Results

Out of 4295 reports identified, 63 met our inclusion criteria and were categorized in three main model families that were described in detail: 1) State transition -i.e Markov- models, 2) Life Table-based models and 3) Attributable fraction-based models. Most studies pertained to the latter one (n = 29, 48.3%). A few miscellaneous models could not be framed into these families.

Conclusions

Our findings can be useful for future researchers and decision makers planning to undertake alcohol-related disease burden or cost-effectiveness studies. We found several different families of models. Countries interested in adopting relevant public health measures may choose or adapt the one deemed most convenient, based on the availability of existing data at the local level, burden of work, and public health and economic outcomes of interest.

Improving screening and brief intervention activities in primary health care: Secondary analysis of professional accuracy based on the AUDIT-C

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE

The ODHIN trial found that training and support and financial reimbursement increased the proportion of patients that were screened and given advice for their heavy drinking in primary health care. However, the impact of these strategies on professional accuracy in delivering screening and brief advice is underresearched and is the focus of this paper.

METHOD

From 120 primary health care units (24 in each jurisdiction: Catalonia, England, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden), 746 providers participated in the baseline and the 12-week implementation periods. Accuracy was measured in 2 ways: correctness in completing and scoring the screening instrument, AUDIT-C; the proportion of screen-negative patients given advice, and the proportion of screen-positive patients not given advice. Odds ratios of accuracy were calculated for type of profession and for intervention group: training and support, financial reimbursement, and internet-based counselling.

RESULTS

Thirty-two of 36 711 questionnaires were incorrectly completed, and 65 of 29 641 screen-negative patients were falsely classified. At baseline, 27% of screen-negative patients were given advice, and 22.5% screen-positive patients were not given advice. These proportions halved during the 12-week implementation period, unaffected by training. Financial reimbursement reduced the proportion of screen-positive patients not given advice (OR = 0.56; 95% CI, 0.31-0.99; P < .05).

CONCLUSION

Although the use of AUDIT-C as a screening tool was accurate, a considerable proportion of risky drinkers did not receive advice, which was reduced with financial incentives.

Beliefs and attitudes about addressing alcohol consumption in health care: a population survey in England

BACKGROUND

Despite robust evidence for their effectiveness, it has proven difficult to translate alcohol prevention activities into routine health care practice. Previous research has identified numerous provider-level barriers affecting implementation, but these have been less extensively investigated in the wider population. We sought to: (1) investigate patients' beliefs and attitudes to being asked about alcohol consumption in health care; and (2) identify the characteristics of those who are supportive of addressing alcohol consumption in health care.

METHODS

Cross-sectional household interviews conducted as part of the national Alcohol Toolkit Study in England between March and April 2017. Data were collected on age, gender, social grade, drinking category, and beliefs and attitudes to being asked about alcohol in routine health care. Unadjusted and multivariate-adjusted logistic regression models were performed to investigate associations between socio-demographic characteristics and drinking category with being "pro-routine" (i.e. 'agree completely' that alcohol consumption should be routinely addressed in health care) or "pro-personal" (i.e. 'agree completely' that alcohol is a personal matter and not something health care providers should ask about).

RESULTS

Data were collected on 3499 participants, of whom 50% were "pro-routine" and 10% were "pro-personal". Those in social grade C1, C2, D and E were significantly less likely than those in AB of being "pro-routine". Women were less likely than men to be "pro-personal", and those aged 35-44 or 65 years plus more likely to be "pro-personal" compared with participants aged 16-24. Respondents aged 65 plus were twice as likely as those aged 16-24 to agree completely that alcohol consumption is a personal matter and not something health care providers should ask about (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.34-2.99).

CONCLUSIONS

Most adults in England agree that health care providers should routinely ask about patients' alcohol consumption. However, older adults and those in lower socio-economic groups are less supportive. Drinking status appears to have limited impact on whether people believe that alcohol is a personal matter and not something health care providers should ask about.

REGISTRATION

Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/xn2st/ ).

Strategies to Overcome Barriers to Implementation of Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention in General Practice: a Delphi Study Among Healthcare Professionals and Addiction Prevention Experts

Despite the evidence base, alcohol screening and brief intervention (ASBI) have rarely been integrated into routine clinical practice. The aim of this study is to identify strategies that could tackle barriers to ASBI implementation in general practice by involving primary healthcare professionals and addiction prevention experts. A three-round online Delphi study was carried out in the Netherlands. The first-round questionnaire consisted of open-ended questions to generate ideas about strategies to overcome barriers. In the second round, participants were asked to indicate how applicable they found each strategy. Items without consensus were systematically fed back with group median ratings and interquartile range (IQR) scores in the third-round questionnaire. In total, 39 out of 69 (57 %) invited participants enrolled in the first round, 214 participants completed the second round, and 144 of these (67 %) completed the third-round questionnaire. Results show that participants reached consensus on 59 of 81 strategies, such as the following: (1) use of E-learning technology, (2) symptom-specific screening by general practitioners (GPs) and/or universal screening by practice nurses, (3) reimbursement incentives, (4) supportive materials, (5) clear guidelines, (6) service provision of addiction care centers, and (7) more publicity in the media. This exploratory study identified a broad set of strategies that could potentially be used for overcoming barriers to ASBI implementation in general practice and paves the way for future research to experimentally test the identified implementation strategies using multifaceted approaches.

Randomised controlled non-inferiority trial of primary care-based facilitated access to an alcohol reduction website: cost-effectiveness analysis

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the 12-month costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained to the Italian National Health Service of facilitated access to a website for hazardous drinkers compared with a standard face-to-face brief intervention (BI).

DESIGN

Randomised 1:1 non-inferiority trial.

SETTING

Practices of 58 general practitioners (GPs) in Italy.

PARTICIPANTS

Of 9080 patients (>18 years old) approached to take part in the trial, 4529 (49·9%) logged on to the website and 3841 (84.8%) undertook online screening for hazardous drinking. 822 (21.4%) screened positive and 763 (19.9%) were recruited to the trial.

INTERVENTIONS

Patients were randomised to receive either a face-to-face BI or access via a brochure from their GP to an alcohol reduction website (facilitated access).

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

The primary outcome is the cost per QALY gained of facilitated access compared with face-to-face. A secondary analysis includes total costs and benefits per 100 patients, including number of hazardous drinkers prevented at 12 months.

RESULTS

The average time required for the face-to-face BI was 8 min (95% CI 7.5 min to 8.6 min). Given the maximum time taken for facilitated access of 5 min, face-to-face is an additional 3 min: equivalent to having time for another GP appointment for every three patients referred to the website. Complete case analysis adjusting for baseline the difference in QALYs for facilitated access is 0.002 QALYs per patient (95% CI -0.007 to 0.011).

CONCLUSIONS

Facilitated access to a website to reduce hazardous drinking costs less than a face-to-face BI given by a GP with no worse outcomes. The lower cost of facilitated access, particularly in regards to investment of time, may facilitate the increase in provision of BIs for hazardous drinking.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT01638338;Post-results.

Estimating the cost-effectiveness of brief interventions for heavy drinking in primary health care across Europe

Background

Screening and Brief Interventions for alcohol are an effective public health measure to tackle alcohol-related harm, however relatively few countries across the European Union (EU) have implemented them widely. This may be due to a lack of understanding of the specific financial implications of such policies within each country.

Methods

A novel 'meta-modelling' approach was developed based on previous SBI cost-effectiveness models for four EU countries. Data were collected on the key factors which drive cost-effectiveness for all 28 EU countries (mean per capita alcohol consumption, proportion of the population to be screened over a 10-year SBI programme; per capita alcohol-attributable mortality; per capita alcohol-attributable morbidity; mean cost of an alcohol-related hospitalisation and mean SBI-delivery staff cost). Regression analysis was used to fit two meta-models estimating net programme costs and Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) gained, to calculate cost-effectiveness estimates specific to each EU country.

Results

Costs are dependent upon the proportion of the population covered by the screening programme, the country-specific per capita mortality and morbidity rate and the country-specific costs of GP care and hospitalisation. QALYs depend on the proportion of the population screened and per capita alcohol consumption. Despite large inter-country variability in factor values, SBI programmes are likely to be cost-effective in 24 out of 28 EU countries and cost-saving in 50% of countries.

Conclusion

Implementing national programmes of SBI in primary health care would be a cost-effective means of reducing alcohol-attributable morbidity and deaths in almost all countries of the EU.

Economic evaluations of alcohol prevention interventions: Is the evidence sufficient? A review of methodological challenges

•

There are few economic evaluations of alcohol prevention interventions.

•

Consideration of impacts beyond an individual’s health in evaluations is limited.

•

No published studies using other priority-setting methods in the alcohol area.

•

Consideration of wider societal perspectives and health inequalities is minimal.

•

Including inter-sectoral costs and consequences in evaluations is challenging.

Public health interventions have unique characteristics compared to health technologies, which present additional challenges for economic evaluation (EE). High quality EEs that are able to address the particular methodological challenges are important for public health decision-makers. In England, they are even more pertinent given the transition of public health responsibilities in 2013 from the National Health Service to local government authorities where new agents are shaping policy decisions.

Addressing alcohol misuse is a globally prioritised public health issue. This article provides a systematic review of EE and priority-setting studies for interventions to prevent and reduce alcohol misuse published internationally over the past decade (2006–2016). This review appraises the EE and priority-setting evidence to establish whether it is sufficient to meet the informational needs of public health decision-makers.

619 studies were identified via database searches. 7 additional studies were identified via hand searching journals, grey literature and reference lists. 27 met inclusion criteria. Methods identified included cost-utility analysis (18), cost-effectiveness analysis (6), cost-benefit analysis (CBA) (1), cost-consequence analysis (CCA) (1) and return-on-investment (1). The review identified a lack of consideration of methodological challenges associated with evaluating public health interventions and limited use of methods such as CBA and CCA which have been recommended as potentially useful for EE in public health. No studies using other specific priority-setting tools were identified.

Improving the delivery of brief interventions for heavy drinking in primary health care: outcome results of the Optimizing Delivery of Health Care Intervention (ODHIN) five-country cluster randomized factorial trial

AIM

To test if training and support, financial reimbursement and option of referring screen-positive patients to an internet-based method of giving advice (eBI) can increase primary health-care providers' delivery of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)-C-based screening and advice to heavy drinkers.

DESIGN

Cluster randomized factorial trial with 12-week implementation and measurement period.

SETTING

Primary health-care units (PHCU) in different locations throughout Catalonia, England, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 120 PHCU, 24 in each of Catalonia, England, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden.

INTERVENTIONS

PHCUs were randomized to one of eight groups: care as usual, training and support (TS), financial reimbursement (FR) and eBI; paired combinations of TS, FR and eBI, and all of FR, TS and eBI.

MEASUREMENTS

The primary outcome measure was the proportion of eligible adult (age 18+ years) patients screened during a 12-week implementation period. Secondary outcome measures were proportion of screen-positive patients advised; and proportion of consulting adult patients given an intervention (screening and advice to screen-positives) during the same 12-week implementation period.

FINDINGS

During a 4-week baseline measurement period, the proportion of consulting adult patients who were screened for their alcohol consumption was 0.059 per PHCU (95% CI 0.034 to 0.084). Based on the factorial design, the ratio of the logged proportion screened during the 12-week implementation period was 1.48 (95% CI = 1.13-1.95) in PHCU that received TS versus PHCU that did not receive TS; for FR, the ratio was 2.00 (95% CI = 1.56-2.56). The option of referral to eBI did not lead to a higher proportion of patients screened. The ratio for TS plus FR was 2.34 (95% CI = 1.77-3.10), and the ratio for TS plus FR plus eBI was1.68 (95% CI = 1.11-2.53).

CONCLUSIONS

Providing primary health-care units with training, support and financial reimbursement for delivering Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-C-based screening and advice to heavy drinkers increases screening for alcohol consumption. Providing primary health-care units with the option of referring screen-positive patients to an internet-based method of giving advice does not appear to increase screening for alcohol consumption.

A microsimulation cost-utility analysis of alcohol screening and brief intervention to reduce heavy alcohol consumption in Canada

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Screening and brief intervention (SBI) is a public health intervention that has been shown to be effective in reducing heavy alcohol consumption. The aim of this study is to estimate the cost-effectiveness of implementing universal alcohol SBI in primary care in Canada.

DESIGN

We developed a microsimulation model of alcohol consumption and its effects on 18 alcohol-related causes of death.

SETTING

The model simulates a Canadian population.

PARTICIPANTS

The model simulates individuals and their alcohol consumption on a continuous scale starting from age 17 years to death.

INTERVENTIONS

The reference case assumes no SBI in Canada. The base case assumes screening was conducted using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) at a threshold score of 8. Additional analyses included evaluating SBI using the AUDIT at threshold scores between 4 and 8 or the Derived Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) at threshold scores between 3 and 7.

MEASUREMENTS

The model estimates the direct health-care costs, life years gained and quality-adjusted life years (QALY) gained, which are then used to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of SBI versus no SBI.

FINDINGS

SBI with AUDIT (at a threshold score of 8) had an ICER of $8729/QALY. Our results suggest that using AUDIT thresholds between 8 and 4, inclusive, would be cost-effective for the whole population, as well as for men and women individually. Our results suggest that the AUDIT-C would be cost-effective at thresholds of 7 to 3, inclusive, for men, women and the whole population.

CONCLUSIONS

In Canada, screening and brief intervention via Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Derived Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) to reduce heavy alcohol consumption appears to be cost-effective for men and women at Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) thresholds of 8 and lower and at Derived Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) thresholds of 7 and lower.

A systematic review of modelling approaches in economic evaluations of health interventions for drug and alcohol problems

Background

The overarching goal of health policies is to maximize health and societal benefits. Economic evaluations can play a vital role in assessing whether or not such benefits occur. This paper reviews the application of modelling techniques in economic evaluations of drug and alcohol interventions with regard to (i) modelling paradigms themselves; (ii) perspectives of costs and benefits and (iii) time frame.

Methods

Papers that use modelling approaches for economic evaluations of drug and alcohol interventions were identified by carrying out searches of major databases.

Results

Thirty eight papers met the inclusion criteria. Overall, the cohort Markov models remain the most popular approach, followed by decision trees, Individual based model and System dynamics model (SD). Most of the papers adopted a long term time frame to reflect the long term costs and benefits of health interventions. However, it was fairly common among the reviewed papers to adopt a narrow perspective that only takes into account costs and benefits borne by the health care sector.

Conclusions

This review paper informs policy makers about the availability of modelling techniques that can be used to enhance the quality of economic evaluations for drug and alcohol treatment interventions.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-016-1368-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Download Your Doctor: Implementation of a Digitally Mediated Personal Physician Presence to Enhance Patient Engagement With a Health-Promoting Internet Application

BACKGROUND

Brief interventions delivered in primary health care are effective in reducing excessive drinking; online behavior-changing technique interventions may be helpful. Physicians may actively encourage the use of such interventions by helping patients access selected websites (a process known as "facilitated access"). Although the therapeutic working alliance plays a significant role in the achievement of positive outcomes in face-to-face psychotherapy and its development has been shown to be feasible online, little research has been done on its impact on brief interventions. Strengthening patients' perception of their physician's endorsement of a website could facilitate the development of an effective alliance between the patient and the app.

OBJECTIVE

We describe the implementation of a digitally mediated personal physician presence to enhance patient engagement with an alcohol-reduction website as part of the experimental online intervention in a noninferiority randomized controlled trial. We also report the feedback of the users on the module.

METHODS

The Download Your Doctor module was created to simulate the personal physician presence for an alcohol-reduction website that was developed for the EFAR-FVG trial conducted in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia. The module was designed to enhance therapeutic alliance and thus improve outcomes in the intervention group (facilitated access to the website). Participating general and family practitioners could customize messages and visual elements and upload a personal photo, signature, and video recordings. To assess the perceptions and attitudes of the physicians, a semistructured interview was carried out 3 months after the start of the trial. Participating patients were invited to respond to a short online questionnaire 12 months following recruitment to investigate their evaluation of their online experiences.

RESULTS

Nearly three-quarters (23/32, 72%) of the physicians interviewed chose to customize the contents of the interaction with their patients using the provided features and acknowledged the ease of use of the online tools. The majority of physicians (21/32, 57%) customized at least the introductory photo and video. Barriers to usage among those who did not customize the contents were time restrictions, privacy concerns, difficulties in using the tools, and considering the approach not useful. Over half (341/620, 55.0%) of participating patients completed the optional questionnaire. Many of them (240/341, 70.4%) recalled having noticed the personalized elements of their physicians, and the majority of those (208/240, 86.7%) reacted positively, considering the personalization to be of either high or the highest importance.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of a digitally mediated personal physician presence online was both feasible and welcomed by both patients and physicians. Training of the physicians seems to be a key factor in addressing perceived barriers to usage. Further research is recommended to study the mechanisms behind this approach and its impact.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Clinicaltrials.gov NCT 01638338; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01638338 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6f0JLZMtq).

The Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model - A Mathematical Description

This methodology paper sets out a mathematical description of the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model version 2.0, a model to evaluate public health strategies for alcohol harm reduction in the UK. Policies that can be appraised include a minimum price per unit of alcohol, restrictions on price discounting, and broader public health measures. The model estimates the impact on consumers, health services, crime, employers, retailers and government tax revenues. The synthesis of public and commercial data sources to inform the model structure is described. A detailed algebraic description of the model is provided. This involves quantifying baseline levels of alcohol purchasing and consumption by age and gender subgroups, estimating the impact of policies on consumption, for example, using evidence on price elasticities of demand for alcohol, quantification of risk functions relating alcohol consumption to harms including 47 health conditions, crimes, absenteeism and unemployment, and finally monetary valuation of the consequences. The results framework, shown for a minimum price per unit of alcohol, has been used to provide policy appraisals for the UK government policy-makers. In discussion and online appendix, we explore issues around valuation and scope, limitations of evidence/data, how the framework can be adapted to other countries and decisions, and ongoing plans for further development. © 2014 The Authors. Health Economics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

What are the Implications for Policy Makers? A Systematic Review of the Cost-Effectiveness of Screening and Brief Interventions for Alcohol Misuse in Primary Care

INTRODUCTION

The efficacy of screening and brief interventions (SBIs) for excessive alcohol use in primary care is well established; however, evidence on their cost-effectiveness is limited. A small number of previous reviews have concluded that SBI programs are likely to be cost-effective but these results are equivocal and important questions around the cost-effectiveness implications of key policy decisions such as staffing choices for delivery of SBIs and the intervention duration remain unanswered.

METHODS

Studies reporting both the costs and a measure of health outcomes of programs combining SBIs in primary care were identified by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, Econlit, the Cochrane Library Database (including NHS EED), CINAHL, PsycINFO, Assia and the Social Science Citation Index, and Science Citation Index via Web of Knowledge. Included studies have been stratified both by delivery staff and intervention duration and assessed for quality using the Drummond checklist for economic evaluations.

RESULTS

The search yielded a total of 23 papers reporting the results of 22 distinct studies. There was significant heterogeneity in methods and outcome measures between studies; however, almost all studies reported SBI programs to be cost-effective. There was no clear evidence that either the duration of the intervention or the delivery staff used had a substantial impact on this result.

CONCLUSION

This review provides strong evidence that SBI programs in primary care are a cost-effective option for tackling alcohol misuse.

Brief interventions implementation on alcohol from the European health systems perspective

Alcohol-related health problems are important public health issues and alcohol remains one of the leading risk factors of chronic health conditions. In addition, only a small proportion of those who need treatment access it, with figures ranging from 1 in 25 to 1 in 7. In this context, screening and brief interventions (SBI) have proven to be effective in reducing alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems in primary health care (PHC) and are very cost effective, or even cost-saving, in PHC. Even if the widespread implementation of SBI has been prioritized and encouraged by the World Health Organization, in the global alcohol strategy, the evidence on long term and population-level effects is still weak. This review study will summarize the SBI programs implemented by six European countries with different socio-economic contexts. Similar components at health professional level but differences at organizational level, especially on the measures to support clinical practice, incentives, and monitoring systems developed were adopted. In Italy, cost-effectiveness analyses and Internet trials shed new light on limits and facilitators of renewed, evidence-based approaches to better deal with brief intervention in PHC. The majority of the efforts were aimed at overcoming individual barriers and promoting health professionals' involvement. The population screened has been in general too low to be able to detect any population-level effect, with a negative impact on the acceptability of the program to all stakeholders. This paper will present a different point of view based on a strategic broadening of the implemented actions to real inter-sectoriality and a wider holistic approach. Effective alcohol policies should strive for quality provision of health services and the empowerment of the individuals in a health system approach.