title: Screening for alcohol use disorders in a genitourinary medicine and contraception clinic: a service evaluation.
abstract: Summary National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance advises that all patients routinely undergo alcohol screening. Our service evaluation in a sexual health clinic assessed the acceptability of alcohol screening, the prevalence of hazardous drinking and the uptake of referral to a specialist alcohol service. Three services were evaluated: a genitourinary medicine service, a contraception service and an integrated sexual health service. AUDIT was used to screen 276 patients; those scoring ≥8 were classified as hazardous drinkers. Screening uptake was 58% overall, 58% for the contraception service, 71% for the genitourinary medicine service and 100% for the integrated sexual health service. Overall, 28% had AUDIT scores ≥8. Hazardous drinking rates were higher in the genitourinary medicine (32%) and integrated sexual health services (52%) compared to the contraception service (21%); 7% of hazardous drinkers accepted referral. High rates of hazardous drinking were identified within all three groups, but uptake of referral was low. Alternative strategies to specialist alcohol service referral are discussed.
authors: University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre, Birmingham, UK nicolathorley@icloud.com.
authors: Nicola L
authors: NL
authors: Thorley
authors: University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre, Birmingham, UK.
authors: Vinod
authors: V
authors: Kumar
authors: University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre, Birmingham, UK.
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Nightingale
authors: University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre, Birmingham, UK.
authors: Keith
authors: K
authors: Radcliffe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003267:Contraception; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D060728:Reproductive Health; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000635:transmission; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: AUDIT; Alcohol; contraception; genitourinary medicine; hazardous drinking; screening; sexual health clinic