Citation

Cherpitel CJ, Bernstein E, Bernstein J, Moskalewicz J, Swiatkiewicz G. J. Addict. Nurs. 2009; 20(3): 127-131.

Affiliation

Alcohol Research Group, 6475 Christie Avenue, Emeryville, CA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Informa Healthcare)

DOI

10.1080/10884600903047618

PMID

20046538

PMCID

PMC2800373

Abstract

A randomized clinical controlled trial of screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for drinking and related problems among at-risk and dependent drinkers, using nurse interventionists, was undertaken in an emergency room (ER) in Sosnowiec, Poland, the first level-one trauma center in that country. This study was the first outside of the U.S. to test protocols developed in a 14-site collaborative SBIRT study. Because Poland has both a pattern of heavy drinking and a highly accessible specialized alcohol treatment system, it offered a key setting for cultural translation of SBIRT to the international context of a new and emerging health care system. It also offered the opportunity to test the effectiveness of SBIRT with both at-risk and dependent drinkers, and to test the feasibility of using ER nursing staff to provide the brief intervention, serving as a potential model for ongoing implementation of SBIRT in ER settings. Findings suggest that the U.S.-based SBIRT protocols can be successfully translated to other cultures, and that nurses can be successfully trained to provide brief intervention for problem drinking in the ER setting.

Language: en