Reducing Risky Alcohol Use

Alcohol is the most commonly used drug in the United States and a leading cause of illness and death. Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) has proven to be effective in reducing risky alcohol use and its adverse consequences among adolescents, adults and older adults.

This intervention involves a structured set of screening questions to determine whether someone is misusing alcohol. A professional evaluates the answers and then shares the results and their significance with the individual in a brief counseling session lasting 5 to 15 minutes. Some individuals may be referred to health practitioners or other resources for continued counseling. Increasing the person’s awareness of his or her alcohol use and its consequences helps motivate the individual to reduce risky drinking or seek treatment, if necessary.

Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention, written by HHD, provides public health professionals, such as health educators and community health workers, with the information, skills, and tools needed to conduct this intervention so that they can help at-risk drinkers stop or reduce their alcohol use.

This manual provides important information about:

• The effectiveness of SBI as a public health strategy
• What health practitioners need to know about SBI
• How to conduct an SBI
• Resources for referrals

Risky drinking can result in problems for the individual drinkers and their families. Communities are also affected financially by the increase in health care, public safety, and social service costs, and emotionally by the increase in illness, disability, and death. SBI can help reduce these costs and improve the health of communities.