SIPS Study Findings on Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention Released

Findings from the Screening and Intervention Programme for Sensible drinking (SIPS), the largest multi-site alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) study ever conducted in the UK, were released in March 2012. Funded by the UK Department of Health, SIPS consisted of randomized controlled trials of different methods of SBI in 3 settings: emergency departments, primary care, and probation services. The goal of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of different methods of alcohol SBI in the typical practice setting. The main findings were that great challenges exist in implementing SBI, and there is a lack of significant effects of brief intervention or brief advice compared with leaflet. Results from the 3 trials are available for download at www.sips.iop.kcl.ac.uk.