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The aim of this randomised intervention study was to test the use of two counselling styles in reducing alcohol consumption in offenders who were hazardous drinkers and who had been charged with alcohol‐related offences. An additional aim was to evaluate the research process itself before embarking on a larger trial. Participants were recruited from a police custody suite in the south east of England and randomised to receive either a motivational interviewing brief intervention (MIBI) or a standard brief intervention (BI). The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to screen offenders for hazardous drinking. Participants were asked to complete a second AUDIT 12 weeks later. Two hundred offenders with alcohol‐related offences were screened over a 10‐month period. Of these, 182 were alcohol dependent and were therefore excluded from the study. Of the 18 who were eligible to enter the study, six refused to participate. Five were randomised to the MIBI group and seven into the BI group (BI). The mean age of the MIBI group was 25 (SD±3.86) years and the mean age of the BI group was 32.4 (SD±7.9). Audit scores were significantly lower at time 2 compared to time 1 for both intervention groups (t(11) = 17.60; p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the different intervention groups.

Excessive alcohol consumption is a major cause of health and social problems in the UK. Research has shown that alcohol‐related problems are responsive to early identification and brief intervention in primary health care. However, primary health care professionals have generally been reluctant to implement alcohol screening and brief intervention into routine practice. Addressing this issue has been the latest focus of an ongoing World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborative Project. The present study (Phase IV) is concerned with the implementation of screening and brief intervention materials and procedures for widespread and routine use in primary health care.

The purpose of this paper is to review the evidence of alcohol use disorders within the different stages of the criminal justice system in the UK. Furthermore it reviewed the worldwide evidence of alcohol brief interventions in the various stages of the criminal justice system.

A rapid systematic review of publications was conducted from the year 2000 to 2014 regarding the prevalence of alcohol use disorders in the various stages of the criminal justice system. The second part of the work was a rapid review of effectiveness studies of interventions for alcohol brief interventions. Studies were included if they had a comparison group. Worldwide evidence was included that consisted of up to three hours of face-to-face brief intervention either in one session or numerous sessions.

This review found that 64-88 per cent of adults in the police custody setting; 95 per cent in the magistrate court setting; 53-69 per cent in the probation setting and 5,913-863 per cent in the prison system and 64 per cent of young people in the criminal justice system in the UK scored positive for an alcohol use disorder. There is very little evidence of effectiveness of brief interventions in the various stages of the criminal justice system mainly due to the lack of follow-up data.

Brief alcohol interventions have a large and robust evidence base for reducing alcohol use in risky drinkers, particularly in primary care settings. However, there is little evidence of effect upon drinking levels in criminal justice settings. Whilst the approach shows promise with some effects being shown on alcohol-related harm as well as with young people in the USA, more robust research is needed to ascertain effectiveness of alcohol brief interventions in this setting.

This paper provides evidence of alcohol use disorders in the different stages of the criminal justice system in the UK using a validated tool as well as reviewing the worldwide evidence for short ( < three hours) alcohol brief intervention in this setting.

Doctors and nurses in three accident & emergency (A&E) departments were interviewed about the feasibility of screening for hazardous drinking as well as the provision of minimal or brief interventions. They were also asked about a more comprehensive approach to alcohol‐related problems that would involve liaising with other services. The feasibility of a comprehensive approach to excessive alcohol consumption is considered. Quantitative data revealed that computerised A&E records did not accurately portray the prevalence of alcohol‐related attendance.

Problem alcohol use (PAU) is common and associated with considerable adverse outcomes among patients receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT). The purpose of this paper is to describe a qualitative feasibility assessment of a primary care-based complex intervention to promote screening and brief intervention for PAU, which also aims to examine acceptability and potential effectiveness.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 patients and eight general practitioners (GPs) who had been purposively sampled from practices that had participated in the feasibility study. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically.

Six key themes were identified. While all GPs found the intervention informative and feasible, most considered it challenging to incorporate into practice. Barriers included time constraints, and overlooking and underestimating PAU among this cohort of patients. However, the intervention was considered potentially deliverable and acceptable in practice. Patients reported that (in the absence of the intervention) their use of alcohol was rarely discussed with their GP, and were reticent to initiate conversations on their alcohol use for fear of having their methadone dose reduced.

Although a complex intervention to enhance alcohol screening and brief intervention among primary care patients attending for OAT is likely to be feasible and acceptable, time constraints and patients’ reticence to discuss alcohol as well as GPs underestimating patients’ alcohol problems is a barrier to consistent, regular and accurate screening by GPs. Future research by way of a definitive efficacy trial informed by the findings of this study and the Psychosocial INTerventions for Alcohol quantitative data is a priority.

To the best of the knowledge, this is the first qualitative study to examine the capability of primary care to address PAU among patients receiving OAT.

In this paper the aim is to explore what modes of governance, brief alcohol interventions in natal care, such as screening and motivational interviewing (MI) represent, and what social consequences this mode of governance might lead to. Traditionally the Nordic public health research on alcohol control policies gives priority to general control measures aimed at the population. However, the paper seeks to argue the relevance of a governmentality perspective to analyze the mode of governance in brief alcohol interventions which aims at individual level of control.

The empirical base of the paper rests on the contents of a brief intervention educational program aimed at midwifes and medical doctors in natal care in Norway. In light of the governmentality perspective the author analyzes screening and MI used in natal care as a mode of governance which fosters the process of responsibilization and the creation of the “irresponsible other”.

It is argued that brief alcohol intervention in natal care is a perfect example of a neoliberal mode of governance, because it is an indirect way of governance, which casts healthcare workers as a part of the state that wants to make pregnant woman self‐governing and responsible. Further this neoliberal mode of governance might lead to four different social consequences: blurring the line between the power of the state and the power of the self, which blurs the distinction between objective health hazards and moral judgment; spreading of powerful therapeutic‐tools to non‐therapeutic professions further neutralizes the moral dimensions; individualization of responsibilities for fetal health decontextualizes females' drinking habits; and drawing the attention of the healthcare worker towards regulations of normality and away from helping females with severe drinking problems.

Traditionally the Nordic public health research on alcohol control policies gives priority to general control measures aimed at the population. However, this paper shows the relevance of a governmentality perspective to analyze the mode of governance inherent in brief alcohol interventions which aims at an individual level of control. Alongside the general control measures in Norwegian alcohol policies, the state engages women at an individual level, through brief and early interventions. Hence the state has double targets of governance; first the general risk‐avoidance regulations directed at the population, and then the state also facilitating the targeting of individuals.

The purpose of this paper is to explore current practice, barriers and facilitators to identifying and responding to alcohol problems in memory clinics.

A questionnaire sent to professionals in 55 memory clinics in England, Wales and the Isle of Wight and two focus groups with professionals from three memory clinics in England.

Only 1/35 clinics that responded to the questionnaire was using a standardised alcohol screening tool but all attempted to gain some information about alcohol use. Without screening tools, practitioners found it difficult to determine whether alcohol use was problematic. Barriers to identification/intervention included cognitive impairment, service-user being “on guard” during assessment, presence of family members/carers, time constraints and a perception that brief interventions were not within the remit of memory clinics. Facilitators were obtaining visual clues of problem drinking during home visits and collateral information from family members/carers.

Focus group participants were recruited through convenience sampling and a small number of professionals took part. This means that the findings may be subject to selection bias and limits the generalisability of the findings.

Memory clinics should provide guidance and training for practitioners on how to intervene and respond to alcohol misuse. Further research is required to determine the most effective way to identify alcohol problems in people with cognitive impairment and how to deliver brief alcohol interventions that take account of cognitive deficits.

This is the first study to examine alcohol screening and interventions in memory clinics and identifies a need for guidance, training and further research.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and process evaluation of an educational intervention, designed to help general practitioners (GPs) identify and manage problem alcohol use among problem drug users.

The educational session was developed as part of a complex intervention which was informed by the Medical Research Council framework for complex interventions. A Cochrane review and a modified Delphi-facilitated consensus process formed the theoretical phase of the development. The modelling phase involved qualitative interviews with professionals and patients. The training's learning outcomes included alcohol screening and delivery of brief psychosocial interventions and this was facilitated by demonstration of clinical guidelines, presentation, video, group discussion and/or role play.

Participants (n=17) from three general practices and local medical school participated in four workshops. They perceived the training as most helpful in improving their ability to perform alcohol screening. Most useful components of the session were the presentation, handout and group discussion with participants appreciating the opportunity to share their ideas with peers.

Training primary healthcare professionals in alcohol screening and brief psychosocial interventions among problem drug users appears feasible. Along with the educational workshops, the implementation strategies should utilise multi-level interventions to support these activities among GPs.

This paper explores the background principles, theories, and components of the QuikFix intervention for primary and comorbid substance use in young people.

QuikFix is a brief Motivational Interviewing (MI) intervention utilising cognitive-behavioural coping skills training to reduce vulnerability to substance use and comorbid mental health problems in young people. It is delivered in two to three brief sessions including an assessment. A new version, QuikFix PI (Personality Intervention) which incorporates coping skills training targeting, sensation seeking, impulsive, depressive and anxiety personality styles that may underlie primary and comorbid substance use problems is presented.

The original QuikFix intervention has demonstrated efficacy in young alcohol and cannabis users with comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms. The efficacy of the new personality targeted version of QuikFix is currently being tested in a large randomized controlled trial among young people with alcohol related injuries/illnesses. Future research is required to determine the efficacy of QuikFix PI in comorbid populations including those with behavioural disorders.

QuikFix interventions can be delivered via telephone or face-to-face in clinical settings for clients with primary substance use and comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms.

This paper describes a novel two to three session manualised personality targeted substance use intervention. The full original QuikFix treatment manual is available online (Hides and Carroll 2010).

The development of policy and delivery of interventions in the connected fields of alcohol and criminal justice is a complex area with implications for the single and joined‐up work of a range of agencies working across health, criminal justice and local government. This paper provides an overview of some of the connected health and criminal justice policy challenges relating to the commissioning and delivery of alcohol services for offenders.