Alcohol misuse continues to pose a major burden for public health. Screening and brief intervention for alcohol misuse in primary care settings has been recommended for decades, and the evidence base supporting it in primary care is robust. However, many primary care providers do not intervene in alcohol misuse, and those that do often fail to do so systematically or in accordance with best-evidence standards. Computerization of screening and brief intervention for alcohol misuse holds the promise of alleviating many of the barriers that have prevented its adoption into routine care, and also offers new opportunities for optimizing the effectiveness of brief interventions. This Phase 2 STTR project follows up on Research Circle Associates' successful proof- of-concept work done under Phase 1, which led to the development of a versatile software platform (Interventionaire(c)) to support computerized alcohol misuse screening and brief intervention using evidence- based strategies including motivational interviewing and normative feedback. Our computerized alcohol misuse intervention includes a normative feedback component that is unique in its micro-targeting of alcohol use feedback based on participant demographic characteristics (race/ethnicity, gender, and age), drawing population normative data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. This represents a novel use of epidemiological data to inform clinical services. The Phase 2 project is designed to answer a number of important research questions and prepare the product for successful commercialization. Specifically, during Phase 2 we intend to implement several refinements into the (Interventionaire(c)) platform that will increase its usability and streamline the creation of complex content with tailored feedback. We will also upgrade the software to make it compatible with a major electronic health record system used by our clinical partner site. This will increase the reach of the product and ensure maximum readiness for deployment into the modern healthcare marketplace, a dynamic and rapidly evolving industry. We will also conduct a study at our clinical partner site using qualitative key informant, focus group, and survey methodologies to investigate barriers to adopting computerized alcohol screening and brief intervention systems. A critical question is whether the computerized alcohol misuse intervention is effective in changing drinking behavior. To answer this question, we will conduct a cross-over randomized controlled trial examining the short-term impact of the computerized alcohol misuse intervention with micro-targeted normative feedback and motivational messaging compared to an attention-control (placebo) generic health promotion message. This trial will help to establish the short- term efficacy of the intervention and set the stage for larger trials and adoption of the product i healthcare settings. Finally, we will conduct a projection analysis of the economic and health impacts of the intervention under a variety of assumptions regarding intervention effect size, target population, and product penetration. Satisfying these Phase 2 objectives will leave RCA well-poised to deploy the product commercially, which will leverage the power of the market to improve clinical service delivery and promote public health.
This project expands upon the proof-of-concept work done under the pilot project in order to get Intervention ire(c) poised for more widespread use. Interventionaire(c) is designed to deploy a computerized interactive questionnaire to patients in a physician waiting room. The information gathered is intended to be a conversation starter for primary care providers and patients (who may feel more at ease with the computer in revealing health risk behaviors, like alcohol abuse). Widespread use of Interventionaire(c) could result in a substantial cost savings by delivering a wide reaching and highly acceptable prevention strategy for integrating risky health behavior screening and brief intervention into mainstream medical practice.
