title: [Early detection and brief intervention to reduce excessive drinking].
abstract: The high frequency of excessive drinking among populations of western countries justifies screening strategies by primary health care givers. The intervention following the identification of a problem drinker should be adjusted according to the nature and level of alcohol-related risk or harm. A non-judgmental and benevolent dialogue about alcohol consumption is to be carried out with every patient, for in most cases this is enough to identify anyone concerned by at-risk or harmful drinking and to assess any consequences and dependence levels. Standardized questionnaires have been conceived and validated to encourage practitioners to carry out this type of interview, taking into account two contradictory needs: a systematic approach of the screening and the need for rapidity. In the same objective, among all sorts of "brief interventions" the efficient ones have been adapted to target populations and to be acceptable to the clinicians' point of view. These tools have been conceived to help excessive drinkers reduce their alcohol consumptions, but they can be a model for a more general approach to secondary prevention, considering all risk factors, not only hazardous behaviour to health.
authors.affiliation: Programme Boire moins, c'est mieux, Association nationale de prévention en alcoologie et addictologie, Nanterre. bmcm@anpa.asso.fr
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Michaud
mesh_terms: D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D000431:Ethanol / Q000506:poisoning; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008403:Mass Screening; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol