Abstract
Problems related to alcohol consumption are priority public health issues worldwide and may compromise women’s health. The early detection of risky alcohol consumption combined with a brief intervention (BI) has shown promising results in prevention for different populations. The aim of this study was to examine data from recent scientific publications on the use of BI toward reducing alcohol consumption among women through a systematic review. Electronic searches were conducted using Web of Science, PubMed(Medline) and PsycInfo databases. In all databases, the term “brief intervention” was associated with the words “alcohol” and “women”, and studies published between the years 2006 and 2011 were selected. Out of the 133 publications found, the 36 scientific articles whose central theme was performing and/or evaluating the effectiveness of BI were included. The full texts were reviewed by content analysis technique. This review identified promising results of BI for women, especially pregnant women and female college students, in different forms of application (face-to-face, by computer or telephone) despite a substantial heterogeneity in the clinical trials analyzed. In primary care, which is a setting involving quite different characteristics, the results among women were rather unclear. In general, the results indicated a decrease in alcohol consumption among women following BI, both in the number of days of consumption and the number of doses, suggesting that the impact on the woman’s reproductive health and the lower social acceptance of female consumption can be aspects favorable for the effectiveness of BI in this population.
Highlights
Alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems are considered public health priorities worldwide [1,2]
Most excluded studies consisted of crosssectional studies that measured the prevalence of alcohol consumption but did not perform a Brief Intervention (BI), instead suggesting it as a key strategy to be evaluated in future studies
The studies assessing the effectiveness of a BI were performed primarily in clinical settings and healthcare services and, in general, reported a decrease in alcohol consumption in the sample studied, both in the number of days of consumption and in the number of doses
Summary
Alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems are considered public health priorities worldwide [1,2]. There are significant gender differences regarding the development of problems caused by alcohol. Women’s risk of alcohol use has a disproportionate effect on their lives and health, including consequences on reproductive function and pregnancy [3]. Initiatives aimed at the early detection of risky (hazardous and harmful) drinking have been shown to be effective in preventing alcohol-related social and health consequences [4,5]. Developed for use in primary care, Brief Intervention (BI) has been found to be an effective and low-cost treatment alternative for alcohol use problems. Using self-help strategies, BI aims to promote a decrease
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