Institute for Clinical and Translational Science

Purpose

Trauma patient readiness to change score and its relationship to the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) score were assessed in addition to the feasibility of Computerized Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention (CASI).

A bilingual computerized tablet for trauma patients was utilized and the data was analyzed using Stata.

Twenty-five percent of 1,145 trauma patients drank more than recommended and 4% were dependent. As many Spanish-speaking as English-speaking males did not drink, but a higher percentage of Spanish-speaking males drank more than recommended and were dependent. Half of patients who drank more than recommended rated themselves eight or higher on a 10-point readiness-to-change scale. CASI also provided personalized feedback. A high percentage of trauma patients (92%) found CASI easy and a comfort in use (87%).

Bilingual computerized technology for trauma patients is feasible, acceptable, and an innovative approach to alcohol screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment in a tertiary care university.