title: The effect of referral for brief intervention for alcohol misuse on repetition of deliberate self-harm: an exploratory randomized controlled trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Referral for brief intervention among people who misuse alcohol is reported to be effective but its impact among those who present to services following deliberate self-harm (DSH) has not been examined.
  
  
  METHODS
  Consecutive patients who presented to an Emergency Department (ED) following an episode of DSH were screened for alcohol misuse. Those found to be misusing alcohol were randomly assigned to brief intervention plus a health information leaflet or to a health information leaflet alone. The primary outcome was whether the patient reattended an ED following a further episode of DSH during the subsequent 6 months. Secondary outcomes were alcohol consumption, mental health and satisfaction with care measured 3 and 6 months after randomization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and three people took part in the study. Follow-up data on our primary outcome were obtained for all subjects and on 63% for secondary outcomes. Half those referred for brief intervention received it. Repetition of DSH was strongly associated with baseline alcohol consumption, but not influenced by treatment allocation. There was a non-significant trend towards the number of units of alcohol consumed per drinking day being lower among those randomized to brief intervention.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Referral for brief intervention for alcohol misuse following an episode of DSH may not influence the likelihood of repetition of self-harm. Longer-term interventions may be needed to help people who deliberately harm themselves and have evidence of concurrent alcohol misuse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, Imperial College London, UK. m.crawford@imperial.ac.uk
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Csipke
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nilsen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Redhead
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Touquet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D016896:Treatment Outcome