Alcohol-related problems: Emergency physicians' current practice and attitudes

To determine whether emergency physicians' (EPs) attitudes affect their support and practice of brief intervention in the Emergency Department (ED), EPs completed an anonymous survey. EPs were asked about their attitudes toward patients with alcohol problems, current ED screening, use of brief intervention, and barriers to use of brief intervention. Chi-square analysis was used and a step-wise regression model was constructed. Respondents reported a high prevalence of patients with alcohol-related problems: 18% in a typical shift. Eighty-one percent said it is important to advise patients to change behavior; half said using a brief intervention is important. Attending physicians had significantly less alcohol education than residents, but were significantly more likely to support the use of brief intervention. Support was not associated with gender, race, census, hours of education, or personal experience. EPs who felt that brief intervention was an integral part of their job were more likely to use it in their daily practice.