Computer-enhanced primary care practitioner advice for high-risk college drinkers in a student primary health-care setting

Heavy drinking among college students remains a significant public health concern. Studies of a brief intervention for high-risk college drinkers developed by Alan Marlatt and colleagues have produced promising results. This current study sought to extend this earlier work by developing a streamlined version for use at a student health center. Undergraduate students seeking services at a student health centre were asked to complete the Multi-Media Assessment of Student Health (MMASH) an interactive computer program developed for purposes of the study. Students meeting high-risk criteria for heavy or hazardous drinking were invited to participate in the research program. Forty-one students volunteered to participate and were randomly assigned by MMASH to either the brief intervention experimental condition or a treatment-as-usual control condition. Immediately following completion of MMASH, experimental participants and their primary care practitioner received and reviewed a personalized graphic feedback from an attached printer that summarized their drinking habits, risks, and encouraged moderate drinking. Moderate to large treatment effect sized favoring the brief intervention were observed on self-report measures of binge drinking episodes and alcohol problems at the 30-day follow-up. Statistically significant gains were observed among those participants receiving the most exposure to the intervention in comparison to those who received less exposure.