TY - JOUR
KW - Adult
KW - Alcohol-Related Disorders/prevention & control/therapy
KW - Connecticut
KW - Emergency Service, Hospital/organization & administration
KW - Female
KW - Health Promotion
KW - Hospitals, Urban/organization & administration
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Mass Screening/organization & administration
KW - Preventive Health Services/organization & administration/utilization
KW - Primary Health Care/organization & administration/utilization
KW - Referral and Consultation/organization & administration
KW - Substance Abuse Treatment Centers/utilization
KW - Substance-Related Disorders/prevention & control/therapy
KW - Urban Population
AU - G. D'Onofrio
AU - L. C. Degutis
A1 - 
AB - OBJECTIVES: The objective was to evaluate the effects of Project Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services Education and Referral to Treatment (ASSERT), an emergency department (ED)-based screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment program for unhealthy alcohol and other drug use. METHODS: Health promotion advocates (HPAs) screened ED patients for alcohol and/or drug problems 7 days a week using questions embedded in a general health questionnaire. Patients with unhealthy drinking and/or drug use received a brief negotiation interview (BNI), with the goal of reducing alcohol/drug use and/or accepting a referral to a specialized treatment facility (STF), depending on severity of use. Patients referred to an STF were followed up at 1 month by phone or contact with the STF to determine referral completion and enrollment into the treatment program. RESULTS: Over a 5-year period (December 1999 through December 2004), 22,534 adult ED patients were screened. A total of 10,246 (45.5%) reported alcohol consumption in the past 30 days, of whom 5,533 (54%) exceeded the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) guidelines for low-risk drinking. Use of at least one illicit drug was reported by 3,530 patients (15.7%). Over one-fourth of screened patients received BNIs (6,266, or 27.8%). Of these, 3,968 (63%) were referred to an STF. Eighty-three percent of patients were followed at 1 month, and 2,159 (65%) had enrolled in a program. Patients who received a direct admission to an STF were 30 times more likely to enroll than those who were indirectly referred (odds ratio = 30.71; 95% confidence interval = 18.48 to 51.04). After 3 years, funding for Project ASSERT was fully incorporated into the ED budget. CONCLUSIONS: Project ASSERT has been successfully integrated into an urban ED. A direct, facilitated referral for patients with alcohol and other drug problems results in a high rate of enrollment in treatment programs.
BT - Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
C5 - General Literature
CP - 8
CY - United States
DO - 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2010.00824.x
IS - 8
JF - Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
N2 - OBJECTIVES: The objective was to evaluate the effects of Project Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services Education and Referral to Treatment (ASSERT), an emergency department (ED)-based screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment program for unhealthy alcohol and other drug use. METHODS: Health promotion advocates (HPAs) screened ED patients for alcohol and/or drug problems 7 days a week using questions embedded in a general health questionnaire. Patients with unhealthy drinking and/or drug use received a brief negotiation interview (BNI), with the goal of reducing alcohol/drug use and/or accepting a referral to a specialized treatment facility (STF), depending on severity of use. Patients referred to an STF were followed up at 1 month by phone or contact with the STF to determine referral completion and enrollment into the treatment program. RESULTS: Over a 5-year period (December 1999 through December 2004), 22,534 adult ED patients were screened. A total of 10,246 (45.5%) reported alcohol consumption in the past 30 days, of whom 5,533 (54%) exceeded the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) guidelines for low-risk drinking. Use of at least one illicit drug was reported by 3,530 patients (15.7%). Over one-fourth of screened patients received BNIs (6,266, or 27.8%). Of these, 3,968 (63%) were referred to an STF. Eighty-three percent of patients were followed at 1 month, and 2,159 (65%) had enrolled in a program. Patients who received a direct admission to an STF were 30 times more likely to enroll than those who were indirectly referred (odds ratio = 30.71; 95% confidence interval = 18.48 to 51.04). After 3 years, funding for Project ASSERT was fully incorporated into the ED budget. CONCLUSIONS: Project ASSERT has been successfully integrated into an urban ED. A direct, facilitated referral for patients with alcohol and other drug problems results in a high rate of enrollment in treatment programs.
PP - United States
PY - 2010
SN - 1553-2712; 1069-6563
SP - 903
EP - 911
EP - 
T1 - Integrating Project ASSERT: a screening, intervention, and referral to treatment program for unhealthy alcohol and drug use into an urban emergency department
T2 - Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
TI - Integrating Project ASSERT: a screening, intervention, and referral to treatment program for unhealthy alcohol and drug use into an urban emergency department
U1 - General Literature
U2 - 20670330
U3 - 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2010.00824.x
VL - 17
VO - 1553-2712; 1069-6563
Y1 - 2010
ER -