Combination SBIRT for Emergency Department Patients Who Drink and Smoke

Development of a Combined Screening and Intervention Program for Emergency Department Patients Who Both Drink and Smoke

Smoking and drinking are two of the three leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States today. Using both alcohol and tobacco significantly multiplies the risk of disease and death from myocardial infarction, COPD, and multiple cancers. Combined use of these substances is extremely common; people who drink are three times more likely than the general population to smoke, and tobacco dependent individuals are four times more likely than the general population to be alcohol-dependent.

Research has shown that there is a high prevalence of unmet substance abuse treatment need among adult Emergency Department (ED) patients. The current project aims to conduct a pilot feasibility study with 50 adult ED patients to develop a brief counseling intervention that is feasible and acceptable to patients who are both smokers and at-risk drinkers to help them reduce these behaviors.

The overarching aim of this line of research is to find the best treatment for ED patients who are combo smokers and at-risk drinkers. The study will focus on the development of an intervention that will be tested in a future larger scale randomized clinical trial.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Smoking; Drinking
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Combined BNI

Detailed Description

Smoking and drinking are the most common addictions in this country and frequently co-occur. Among persons who smoke and drink, there appears to be a robust dose-response relationship, with heavier drinking associated with heavier smoking and vice versa. Additionally, smokers who are more alcohol dependent often report that smoking is a common way to cope with the urge to drink.

Research has shown that there is a high prevalence of unmet substance abuse treatment need among adult Emergency Department (ED) patients. As many as 46% of ED patients have recently consumed alcohol and a significant number of the 31.6 million ED injury related visits are alcohol related. The prevalence rate of tobacco use among ED patients is reportedly as high as 40% and contributes to significant morbidity and mortality.

For many the ED is the only place they can access medical care. Although most medically-underserved individuals never seek out specialized treatment for smoking or drinking, each year over 120 million people visit an ED. Since an ED visit may be a patient's only point of contact with the health care system, it represents an important opportunity not only to treat their emergent needs, but to screen and provide this vulnerable population with appropriate alcohol and tobacco use interventions.

The intervention, built upon the Brief Negotiated Interview (BNI) model, aims to help patients reduce harmful drinking and smoking and will be initiated during an ED visit followed by 3 follow up COMBINE counseling telephone sessions post ED visit.

The specific aims of the proposed project are to:

Aim 1: To develop an effective brief intervention for smoker- drinkers that is feasible and acceptable for patients treated in the emergency department

Aim 2: To identify barriers to treatment engagement and factors that facilitate successful engagement in alcohol and smoking cessation treatment

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 50
• Phase: Early Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Connecticut
    • New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06519
      • Yale New Haven Hospital Emergency Department

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adults = or > 18 years old
• English speaking
• Willing and able to give informed consent
• Current daily smoker
• Smokes 5 or more cigarettes daily
• Alcohol screening score =/> than 8 and =< 19

Exclusion Criteria:

• Too ill to consent
• Not interested in quitting drinking and smoking
• Current use of smoking / alcohol use cessation medications / products
• Current involvement in alcohol or smoking treatment program
• Doe not have locator information

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Screening
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Areas in need of help	Descriptive summary of patient reports of areas in need of help as reported during assessments	3 months
Barriers and facilitators to accessing care	Descriptive summary of patient reports of barriers and facilitators encountered in trying to access needed alcohol and smoking cessation treatments	3 months
Counseling satisfaction	Patient reports of satisfaction with counseling modules delivered	3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Treatment utilization	Number of contacts with treatment resources for alcohol and tobacco cessation	3 months
Reduction of consumption	Patient self reported reductions in smoking and drinking	3 months
Quit attempts	Number of quit attempts (smoking and drinking)	3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Yale University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Mary K Murphy, PhD, Yale University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: June 1, 2012
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 8, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): May 8, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 7, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 7, 2012
• First Posted (Estimate): May 9, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 26, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 24, 2020
• Last Verified: June 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: smoking; drinking; emergency department; adults; SBIRT; BNI; counseling intervention
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Disease Attributes; Emergencies
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1205010294