title: Assessment of alcohol use patterns among spanish-speaking patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to assess drinking patterns of Spanish-speaking patients using a bilingual computerized alcohol screening and brief intervention (CASI) tablet computer equipped with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT).
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary university hospital emergency department (ED) between 2006 and 2010. Data from 1816 Spanish-speaking ED patients were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the chi-square test for independence, and the Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test for comparisons using quantitative variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 15% of Spanish-speaking patients were at-risk drinkers, and 5% had an AUDIT score consistent with alcohol dependency (≥20). A higher percentage of Spanish-speaking males than females were at-risk drinkers or likely dependent. Spanish-speaking males exhibited higher frequency of drinking days per week and higher number of drinks per day compared with females. Among older patients, nondrinking behavior increased and at-risk drinkers decreased. The majority of males and females were ready to change their behavior after the CASI intervention; 61% and 69%, respectively, scored 8-10.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study indicated that CASI was an effective tool for detecting at-risk and likely dependent drinking behavior in Spanish-speaking ED patients. The majority of patients were ready to change their drinking behavior. More alcohol screening and brief intervention tools should be tested and become readily accessible for Spanish-speaking patients.
authors.affiliation: Center for Trauma and Injury Prevention Research, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Orange, CA 92868, USA. shl@uci.edu
authors.forename: Shahram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lotfipour
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cisneros
authors.forename: Craig L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Samer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roumani
authors.forename: Wirachin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hoonpongsimanont
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Bharath
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chakravarthy
authors.forename: Brad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dykzeul
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vaca
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012727:Sex Characteristics