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Alcohol - problem drinking - Management
How should I screen for problem drinking?
- Tailor discussions on alcohol and screening according to the person's needs, taking into account their faith and cultural beliefs.
- Complete a validated questionnaire with the person, or, if they are competent, ask them to complete one themselves (consult relevant specialists if it is not appropriate to use an English language-based questionnaire).
- Use AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) to decide whether to offer a brief intervention or not, and if so, what type (see Interpreting AUDIT).
- If time is limited, use an abbreviated version. These include AUDIT-C (AUDIT-Consumption), AUDIT-PC (AUDIT-Primary Care), SASQ (Single Alcohol Screening Questionnaire), or FAST (Fast Alcohol Screening Test). Follow this up with the full questionnaire if problem drinking is indicated.
- AUDIT and its associated screening questionnaires can be downloaded from www.ncl.ac.uk/ihs/assets/pdfs/hmitm/screeningtools (pdf).
- Biochemical measures (blood tests) should not be used as a matter of course to detect whether a person has been drinking hazardously or harmfully.
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