Screening and Brief Interventions (SBI)

Screening and brief intervention (SBI) for risky alcohol and drug use is moving from research into the mainstream of preventive medicine and public health.

The primary goal of screening and brief intervention efforts is not to identify alcohol- or drug-dependent individuals for referral to treatment. Rather, these approaches are intended to meet the public health goal of reducing the harms and societal costs associated with risky drinking and drug taking.

Research shows that risky drinking causes more total accidental harm than the heavy drinking of alcoholics. Though risky drinkers are individually less likely to cause alcohol-related problems, they make up a much greater portion of the general population than alcoholics, so the most significant amount of damage is caused by those who engage in risky drinking from time to time but are not dependent on alcohol.

Screenings and brief interventions (SBI) address risky alcohol use long before it leads to health, financial, social, employment or family problems. A brief, non-judgmental intervention by a health care professional can have a positive, long term impact on risky alcohol use.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Join Together published a policy report encouraging the increased use of screening and brief interventions. The report serves as a primer on SBI issues, covers barriers to expanded utilization, and makes recommendations on ways to boost understanding and usage of this important tool.

The recommendations below are covered in more depth in the complete report. (Print copies of the report may be ordered through Join Together.)

For Health Care Settings:

Don't expect physicians to bear the sole responsibility for widespread public health implementation of SBI.
Involve specialty health providers to share the responsibility for providing SBI services.
Include SBI as part of medical school curriculum and residency training.
Use screening tools that emphasize ease of use, and integrate screening for alcohol and drug use with other routine preventive screenings.

For General Use:

Encourage professional associations to endorse SBI as routine health care practice.
Expand SBI beyond the health care system. Use online screening instruments, EAPs, and other private sector settings.
Repeal state insurance laws that discourage screening and brief intervention services.
Use direct to consumer marketing to raise the demand for screening and brief interventions.

Order your copy of Screening and Brief Intervention: Making a Public Health Difference

Download and read the report (PDF, 2 MB)