Abstract
BackgroundAlcohol misuse among youth is a major public health concern and numbers of adolescents admitted to the emergency department for acute alcoholic intoxication in Germany are recently growing. The emergency setting offers an opportunity to reach at-risk alcohol consuming adolescents and provide brief interventions in a potential “teachable moment”. However, studies on brief interventions targeting adolescents in emergency care are scarce and little is known about their effectiveness when delivered immediately following hospitalization for acute alcohol intoxication. In this protocol we present the HaLT-Hamburg trial evaluating a brief motivational intervention for adolescents treated in the emergency department after an episode of acute alcoholic intoxication.MethodsThe trial design is a parallel two-arm cluster randomized-controlled trial with follow-up assessment after 3 and 6 months. N = 312 participants aged 17 years and younger will be recruited Fridays to Sundays in 6 pediatric clinics over a period of 30 months. Intervention condition is a manual-based brief motivational intervention with a telephone booster after 6 weeks and a manual-guided intervention for caregivers which will be compared to treatment as usual. Primary outcomes are reduction in binge drinking episodes, quantity of alcohol use on a typical drinking day and alcohol-related problems. Secondary outcome is further treatment seeking. Linear mixed models adjusted for baseline differences will be conducted according to intention-to-treat (ITT) and completers (per-protocol) principles to examine intervention effects. We also examine quantitative and qualitative process data on feasibility, intervention delivery, implementation and receipt from intervention providers, receivers and regular emergency department staff.DiscussionThe study has a number of strengths. First, a rigorous evaluation of HaLT-Hamburg is timely because variations of the HaLT project are widely used in Germany. Second, prior research has not targeted adolescents in the presumed teachable moment following acute alcohol intoxication. Third, we included a comprehensive process evaluation to raise external validity. Fourth, the study involved important stakeholders from the start to set up organizational structures for implementation and maintaining project impact.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN31234060 (April 30th 2012).
Highlights
IntroductionStudies on brief interventions targeting adolescents in emergency care are scarce and little is known about their effectiveness when delivered immediately following hospitalization for acute alcohol intoxication
Alcohol misuse among youth is a major public health concern and numbers of adolescents admitted to the emergency department for acute alcoholic intoxication in Germany are recently growing
In Germany, the number of adolescents admitted to in-patient treatment for acute alcoholic intoxication (AAI) is recently growing
Summary
Studies on brief interventions targeting adolescents in emergency care are scarce and little is known about their effectiveness when delivered immediately following hospitalization for acute alcohol intoxication. Delinquency and problems of academic adjustment are often associated with repeated episodes of heavy drinking [16,17] puts youth at risk for chronification of problematic substance use patterns into adulthood [18,19]. Beyond these immense personal risks, alcohol-related problems impose significant economic burdens on public health care [20]. Excessive alcohol use in adolescents continues to be a major public health problem [21,22] and indicated preventive interventions as early as in adolescence are essential [23,24]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
