Adolescent screening and brief intervention program

On October 1, 2008, the trauma prevention program began working with the UCD emergency department to pilot a program to decrease the number of alcohol related adolescent motor vehicle crashes in Sacramento County.  This innovative program conducts screening and brief interventions (SBI) in area emergency departments with adolescents, ages 12 through 17, who had been drinking alcohol before they were brought to the hospital.  During the 2 year period of this pilot project, a study will be conducted to determine the effectiveness of this intervention for reducing and eliminating drinking behavior in adolescents.

Screening and brief intervention (SBI) is a comprehensive, public health approach to the identification and intervention of problem drinking behavior, and is recommended by the  American College of Surgeons to reduce the recurrence of alcohol related injuries in adults.  Providing SBI for adolescents who have been drinking alcohol and are being treated in an emergency department is potentially an effective way to reduce or eliminate future drinking in these patients. This intervention is a nonjudgmental guided discussion with the teen about alcohol use and the effects it has in their life.

Emergency departments at three trauma centers in the Sacramento region, UCD, Kaiser South, and Sutter Roseville, are currently participating in this pilot project.  Forty area nurses and physicians were trained to conduct adolescent SBI with teens that arrive at the emergency department with alcohol in their blood.  Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

For more information, contact Dana Covington, Adolescent Screening & Brief Intervention Project Manager, at (916) 734-9795 or dana.covington@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.