<abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Brief interventions directed against hazardous and harmful drinking have become popular in recent years, both among researchers and, to some extent, among general practitioners and other health professionals. There is a strong evidence-base, at least in primary health care, to justify this popularity. But there is often confusion about what exactly alcohol brief intervention consists of. In fact, the term ‘brief intervention’ does not describe a single, well-defined activity but rather a family of interventions that differ in a range of ways. Although they all share the characteristics of being briefer than most formal treatment programmes for alcohol problems and of being aimed at drinkers with less severe problems and levels of dependence than those typically attending specialized treatment services, brief interventions differ among themselves in duration over time, number of scheduled sessions, procedures and accompanying materials, styles of interaction, delivery personnel and settings, and the underlying theoretical approach on which they are based.</p></abstract>

Brief interventions directed against hazardous and harmful drinking have become popular in recent years, both among researchers and, to some extent, among general practitioners and other health professionals. There is a strong evidence-base, at least in primary health care, to justify this popularity. But there is often confusion about what exactly alcohol brief intervention consists of. In fact, the term ‘brief intervention’ does not describe a single, well-defined activity but rather a family of interventions that differ in a range of ways. Although they all share the characteristics of being briefer than most formal treatment programmes for alcohol problems and of being aimed at drinkers with less severe problems and levels of dependence than those typically attending specialized treatment services, brief interventions differ among themselves in duration over time, number of scheduled sessions, procedures and accompanying materials, styles of interaction, delivery personnel and settings, and the underlying theoretical approach on which they are based.

The case for extended brief interventions

Department of Psychology, School of Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Slovenian Journal of Public Health

{"article-title":"The case for extended brief interventions"}

Brief interventions directed against hazardous and harmful drinking have become popular in recent years, both among researchers and, to some extent, among...

The case for extended brief interventions

Published Online: Jan 17, 2011

Page range: 1 - 11

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10152-010-0023-8

Keywords
extended brief interventions

This content is open access.

The case for extended brief interventions

Published Online: Jan 17, 2011

Page range: 1 - 11

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10152-010-0023-8

Keywordsextended brief interventions

This content is open access.

Keywords
extended brief interventions