Screening and brief intervention in primary care: barriers against an early intervention for patients with alcohol misuse

Abstract

The effectiveness of screening and brief intervention (SBI) to reduce alcohol consumption has been shown by several studies in primary care. In spite of many attempts to establish SBI in routine care only a few patients are treated accordingly. Therefore in the study the General Practitioners' (GPs) assessment of barriers was investigated and tested for social desirability bias in order to determine barriers which are underestimated by GPs. The questionnaire was sent to 700 GPs in Saxony-Anhalt. 178 questionnaires were analysed. Strong agreement could be found for barriers such as insufficient reimbursement and insufficient adherence of patients. GPs with low social desirability bias felt more awkward about asking patients about alcohol consumption and assessed SBI as less relevant for general practice. Primary care prevention of dependency should be advanced on the basis of a more elaborate knowledge of motivational effects of relevant barriers.