Citation

Fankhaenel T, Samos F, Luck-Sikorski C, Thiel C, Klement A, Frese T. Alcohol Alcohol. 2018; 53(4): 403-407.

Affiliation

Medical Faculty, Institute for General Practice and Family Medicine,University of Halle-Wittenberg, Magdeburger Str. 8, 06112 Halle/Saale, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/alcalc/agy001

PMID

29378028

Abstract

AIMS: Although shown to be effective, General Practitioners (GPs) tend to refuse the implementation of Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI). Their expectation of negative response by patients seems to contrast with the positive attitude towards SBI of these patients. This discrepancy may be resolved by regarding moderators such as drinking status and patient satisfaction. We hypothesized that the attitude towards SBI will be more positive for abstainers or low-level consumers in comparison to high risk consumers especially in case of low patient satisfaction.

METHODS: Ten GP offices in Germany received the questionnaires for a recruitment maximum of 30 patients each. Patient satisfaction was measured by the Koelner Questionnaire of Patient Satisfaction and drinking status was evaluated using the AUDIT-C. To assess the SBI attitude a pretested 8-item Likert scale was used.

RESULTS: Questionnaires of 257 patients could be analyzed. Almost a third of patients were risky consumers (N = 78, 29.9%). They showed a more negative attitude towards SBI (M = 3.99, SD = 0.71) than abstainers or low-level consumers (M = 4.20, SD = 0.55). The main analysis revealed main effects for alcohol consumption, F(1, 252) = 4.31, P < 0.05, and patient satisfaction, F(1, 252) = 22.15, P < 0.001, as well as an interaction effect, F(1, 252) = 5.01, P < 0.05, showing that the SBI attitude of risky consumers was more negative than the SBI attitude of abstainers or low-level consumers only in case of low satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS: Risky consumers show a more positive attitude towards SBI when they are satisfied with their GP. Our results thus suggest the use of a supportive consultation style for the intervention of risky consumers. SHORT SUMMARY: SBI attitude of general practice patients depends on their drinking status: abstainers or low-level consumers revealed a more positive attitude towards SBI than risky consumers. This effect is moderated by the patient's satisfaction. Risky consumers show a more positive attitude towards SBI if they are satisfied with their GP.

Language: en