OBJECTIVE To understand the influence of physical activity on teen smoking-cessation outcomes. METHODS Teens (N = 233; 14-19 years of age) from West Virginia high schools who smoked >1 cigarette in the previous 30 days were included. High schools with >300 students were selected randomly and assigned to brief intervention (BI), Not on Tobacco (N-O-T) (a proven teen cessation program), or N-O-...

In 2016, the International Network on Brief Interventions for Alcohol & Other Drugs convened a meeting titled "Rethinking alcohol interventions in health care". The aims of the meeting were to synthesize recent evidence about screening and brief intervention and to set directions for research, practice, and policy in light of this evidence. Screening and brief intervention is efficacious in red...

BACKGROUND Alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) reduces drinking among at-risk drinkers. Lack of training and negative attitudes represents a barrier to SBI performance. This study evaluates the impact of a medical student workshop using recovering alcoholics in simulated patient interviews to teach SBI skills. METHODS Third-year students (n=94) were surveyed before and after a 3-ho...

This study evaluated the use of 2 brief interventions (BIs) to reduce drug use among 14- to 17-year-olds identified in a school setting as drug abusers. Students (N = 79) were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 3 target conditions: 2 sessions with the adolescent only (BI-A), 2 sessions with the adolescent and 1 with the parent (BI-AP), or an assessment-only control condition (CON). Follow-up ass...

BACKGROUND Engaging parents who have a personality disorder in interventions designed to protect children from the extremes of the disorder supports both parenting skills and healthy child development. In line with evidence-based guidelines, a 'Parenting with Personality Disorder' brief intervention was developed, focusing on child safety, effective communication and parenting strategies. MET...

Public schools are not traditional locations where screening, brief motivational counseling intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) are provided. This translational research study aimed to test the feasibility of conducting SBIRT in two urban New York schools and to examine its economic sustainability. In Spring 2012, 248 students were screened during non-academic classes: 42% of them (n...

BACKGROUND The treatment of substance use disorders is a public health priority, particularly in South Africa where the prevalence of these disorders is high. We tested two peer-counsellor delivered brief interventions (BIs) for risky substance use among adults presenting to emergency departments (EDs) in South Africa. METHODS In this randomised controlled trial, we enrolled patients presenti...

There is a robust body of evidence supporting alcohol brief intervention (BI) in primary health-care settings, but fewer studies have explored delivery elsewhere. This qualitative evaluation followed up staff in one integrated health and social-care service in Scotland to find out if and how multidisciplinary training in alcohol BI impacted practice, and if and why BI had been delivered followi...

BACKGROUND Although brief intervention (BI) for alcohol and other drug problems has been associated with subsequent decreased levels of self-reported substance use, there is little information in the extant literature as to whether individuals with co-occurring hazardous substance use and mental illness would benefit from BI to the same extent as those without mental illness. This is an importa...