Tailoring Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment for Medical ICU Survivors

Unhealthy alcohol use is present in up to 38% of the 4 million patients admitted to an American intensive care unit (ICU) each year in the US. Despite the high prevalence of unhealthy alcohol use in ICU survivors, routine interventions targeted at reducing alcohol consumption, alcohol-related consequences, and illness related to alcohol are not currently part of the multidisciplinary approach to critical care. Although screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) has been described in several healthcare settings, it fails to address common characteristics of medical ICU survivors including high rates of alcohol use disorders, cognitive dysfunction, psychiatric comorbidities, and intimate involvement of friends and family. This study uses a qualitative approach to further understand the needs of medical ICU survivors with unhealthy alcohol use. The investigators hypothesize that there are common, modifiable barriers to improving alcohol-related outcomes