Findings bulletins: court ordered treatment, social norming, brief intervention follow ups

Recent bulletins from the drug and alcohol bank:

Re-offending not reduced by court-ordered alcohol treatment in England

The first UK evaluation of court-ordered alcohol treatment to feature an adequate comparison group found no significant reductions in re-offending from alcohol treatment requirements imposed as part of a probation sentence. Why did such a major intervention not prove effective?

Small change to preventive messages could prompt heavy drinkers to seek help

‘Social norm’ interventions which aim to reduce consumption by telling heavy drinkers how their drinking compares to their peer group have a patchy record, but this British study suggests for students they might be improved by ranking against peers (eg, ‘You drink more than 80% of students’) rather than comparing how many units of alcohol they consume.

Boosters needed for brief advice to cut drinking of young emergency patients

Analysis of the only four randomised trials of brief alcohol interventions among young adults receiving emergency care after getting drunk tentatively suggested that booster sessions or later advice are needed to reduce drinking – but were these real-world emergency department interventions?

Follow-up call needed for trauma unit alcohol advice to cut drinking

US trauma centres dealing with serious and often alcohol-related injuries ought to offer an environment conducive to brief alcohol interventions, but this first multi-site trial found motivational counselling more effective than minimal advice only when combined with a follow-up ‘booster’ phone call.