Effectiveness of a nurse-led telephonic brief intervention to reduce risky alcohol use among women in primary care in Brazil: a randomized controlled trial
Ana Vitória Corrêa Lima, Jéssica Lima De Oliveira Pinheiro Gaia, Divane De Vargas
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Abstract
Background
Despite the increase in alcohol use among women worldwide, evidence on scalable, gender-responsive interventions remains limited, particularly in primary-care settings. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a nurse-delivered, telephonic brief intervention (BI) for reducing risky and harmful alcohol use among women.
Methods
This randomized controlled trial included 151 women recruited from four primary-care facilities in São Paulo, Brazil, who scored 8–19 on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG), which received a nurse-delivered telephone BI, or a control group (CG), which received feedback only. The primary outcome was the change in AUDIT scores assessed longitudinally from baseline through 24 months of follow-up.
Results
In women receiving the telephonic BI, AUDIT scores significantly reduced during the first 6 months postintervention. Although this benefit was attenuated over longer-term follow-up, AUDIT scores in the control group followed an increasing trajectory over time. Race and household income were significantly associated with AUDIT scores; this suggests that socioeconomic factors may influence patterns of alcohol-related risk and intervention outcomes.
Conclusions
A nurse-delivered telephonic BI produced meaningful short- to medium-term reductions in risky and harmful alcohol use among women in the primary-care setting. The attenuation of effects beyond 6 months suggests that a single brief intervention may be insufficient to sustain behavioral change over the long term and supports the evaluation of booster sessions or other low-intensity follow-up strategies. As a low-cost and scalable approach that can be integrated into routine primary care, telephonic BI may expand access to alcohol-related preventive care for women, particularly in resource-constrained settings.
期刊介绍：
Archives of Women’s Mental Health is the official journal of the International Association for Women''s Mental Health, Marcé Society and the North American Society for Psychosocial Obstetrics and Gynecology (NASPOG). The exchange of knowledge between psychiatrists and obstetrician-gynecologists is one of the major aims of the journal. Its international scope includes psychodynamics, social and biological aspects of all psychiatric and psychosomatic disorders in women. The editors especially welcome interdisciplinary studies, focussing on the interface between psychiatry, psychosomatics, obstetrics and gynecology. Archives of Women’s Mental Health publishes rigorously reviewed research papers, short communications, case reports, review articles, invited editorials, historical perspectives, book reviews, letters to the editor, as well as conference abstracts. Only contributions written in English will be accepted. The journal assists clinicians, teachers and researchers to incorporate knowledge of all aspects of women’s mental health into current and future clinical care and research.
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