This proposal seeks to pilot test and refine a brief screener for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) among participants in the National Highway Safety and Traffic Administration (NHSTA) Deciannual National Roadside Survey (NRS). There is a body of evidence that purports heavy and problem drinkers are overrepresented in the population of DUI offenders and pose a significant threat to highway and traffic safety. We seek to pilot test and refine a brief AUD screener that could be administered in conjunction with the NHTSA-sponsored NRS that would serve as a rapid roadside assessment of AUDs. This screener will help clarify the extent to which drivers in general, and more specifically, drivers with elevated blood alcohol concentrations as measured by standardized breath tests have current alcohol problems. If successful, this screening will aid policymakers in determining appropriate intervention services for DUI offenders as well as correlate cross-sectional BAG readings with alcohol abuse and dependence, a signal for unmet treatment need. Based on existing scientific evidence, the consumption subscale of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule (AUDADIS) are proposed as a brief roadside AUD screener. This work is divided into three distinct phases. Phase 1 will entail a 100-driver mini Feasibility Test to determine if selected respondents are willing to answer the items. Second, a brief 200-driver Validity/Reliability Study will be conducted. Phase 2 involves administration of the screener in the NHSTA NRS 600-case pilot program. Phase 3 will entail an analysis of data and support to NHTSA for inclusion of the AUD screener in the 2006 National Roadside Survey.
The specific aims of this work are:
Aim 1 : To measure the response rate of participants in roadside surveys to AUD questions validated through other survey procedures.
Aim 2 : To validate and refine a brief screening instrument to detect AUDs among drivers under realistic conditions (i.e., roadside research arenas where brief surveys and tests can be administered to a random sample of motorists stopped on the highway between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.).
Aim 3 : To conduct an initial assessment of the relationship between BAG at the roadside and AUD status.
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| Furr-Holden, C Debra; Voas, Robert B; Lacey, John et al. (2011) The prevalence of alcohol use disorders among night-time weekend drivers. Addiction 106:1251-60 |
| Furr-Holden, C Debra; Voas, Robert B; Lacey, John et al. (2009) Toward national estimates of alcohol use disorders among drivers: results from the National Roadside Survey Pilot Program. Traffic Inj Prev 10:403-9 |
