Identifying and Managing Alcohol-related Health Problems in General Practice

Overview

The overall purpose of the proposed research is to increase patients' and general practitioners' (GPs') awareness of alcohol as a relevant factor for a wide variety of health problems in general practice, and enable earlier help and treatment. To achieve this, the investigators aim to test the feasibility of a pragmatic strategy for identification of alcohol-related health problems, and the feasibility of a web-based intervention between consultations, as a supplement to usual care in general practice.

Alcohol use is a major health problem, and there is a strong need for improved identification of and interventions for alcohol-related health problems. These constitute somatic and neuropsychiatric health problems, caused, precipitated, or complicated by alcohol use. The investigators will especially recruit patients in late adulthood (60+), as this group may experience more barriers with digital interventions, and will have more health problems potentially affected by alcohol. The investigators have developed the identification strategy and the interventions in close collaboration with key stakeholders: patients and health care professionals. The aim is to test the feasibility of interventions for hazardous (a quantity or pattern placing patients at risk for adverse health events) and harmful alcohol consumption (consumption resulting in adverse events), with two distinct components, namely pragmatic case finding and a digital self-administered intervention (called Endre) for use between consultations. The study will focus mainly on aspects related to acceptability, demand, implementation and practicality. The results from this feasibility study may give valuable knowledge on how this treatment approach should be adapted and implemented, and will indicate whether a full-scale RCT is warranted. This study is testing the feasibility of interventions intended to facilitate change for both patients (reduced alcohol consumption) and for physicians (improved addressing of alcohol and improved intervention delivery).