J Am Board Fam Med
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A randomized controlled trial of a tailored primary care program to reverse excessive alcohol consumption.
To assess the effects of a tailored, multifaceted intervention in primary care on the level of patients' alcohol consumption and to investigate which patient and organizational factors determine a reduction in alcohol consumption. ⋯ Our results suggest that the intervention has been counterproductive because the proportion of patients reducing their levels of alcohol consumption to low-risk levels was lower in the intervention group compared with the control group. Furthermore, our study demonstrated that patients' attitudes toward alcohol use are an important determinant of the success of the program. Therefore, future research should focus on the effectiveness of methods to change patients' attitudes.