Implementing alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) in women’s health services
Excessive alcohol use can result in a variety of negative health and social consequences. For women of childbearing age, drinking any alcohol during pregnancy can cause a range of physical, behavioral, and learning problems called fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Additionally, drinking during pregnancy is a risk factor for other poor pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage and stillbirth. Health professionals are uniquely positioned to intervene using alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) protocols, an evidence-based approach that has proven successful. This project focuses on the development, implementation, and evaluation of alcohol SBI protocols in primary health care clinics, along with the facilitation of system-level approaches such as the integration of electronic health records and the sharing of lessons learned.
CHRT is working with the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit and other partners to collect and analyze data and evaluate the feasibility, development, and implementation of alcohol SBI protocols in a large health system, including training and technical assistance. CHRT will evaluate methods for disseminating promising implementation models, review sustainability plans for long-term alcohol SBI implementation, and review system-level strategies to increase uptake of alcohol SBI.