More than 178 000 people died from excessive alcohol use in the US during 2020 to 2021, surpassing deaths from the overdose epidemic.¹ Excessive drinking is now the leading cause of preventable death in the US.¹ Alcohol use disorder (AUD) most commonly begins during adolescence, although rarely is it identified and treated at this age.² We urgently need interventions that allow us to better identify those young people at risk of developing AUD and alcohol-related complications later in adulthood. In their study of alcohol use among youths with a chronic medical condition (CMC), Weitzman et al³ describe a novel approach for alcohol prevention in a population of youths with medical vulnerability. Youths with a CMC are particularly susceptible to the effects of alcohol and warrant particular attention. Although the rate of alcohol use among these youths is similar to that of their peers, youths with a CMC have higher rates of progression to heavy alcohol use and AUD.⁴ Weitzman et al³ found that high-risk alcohol use occurred in more than 1 of 10 youths (aged 14-18 years) with a CMC seen in the specialty clinics included in their study. These youths also have an increased risk of treatment nonadherence and potential medication reactions with alcohol as a result of the underlying disease, worsening the potential effects of high-risk alcohol exposure in this population.⁴

Given these disparities, Weitzman et al³ designed a randomized clinical trial aimed at evaluating the effects of the Take Good Care (TGC) alcohol use prevention intervention over 12 months among youths with a CMC. In the specialty clinic setting, youths in the intervention group received a brief, personalized intervention consisting of a self-administered slide deck on an electronic tablet. Slides were disease tailored, and they included specific effects of alcohol use on disease processes, treatment safety, and efficacy as well as motivational information on health-protecting decisions and behaviors. Although there was no change among youths reporting no or minimal (low-risk) alcohol use, there was a 40% relative reduction in self-reported frequency of alcohol use among those receiving the TGC intervention who reported high-risk alcohol use at baseline compared with those who received treatment as usual.

The study by Weitzman et al³ highlights the potential importance of brief interventions in changing youth behavior, particularly among a group of youths who are medically vulnerable. Although a shocking 11.5% of youths with a CMC in this study reported high-risk alcohol use at baseline, nationally only a quarter of pediatricians report using validated screening tools to assess alcohol use among adolescents and only 11% of pediatricians correctly use the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) tool recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.⁵ Despite growing evidence supporting the benefit of SBIRT for pediatric populations, barriers to implementation include insufficient time and need for clinician training⁵; both of these barriers are ameliorated with the use of the self-administered, electronic intervention described by Weitzman et al.³ This study adds to the growing database highlighting the effectiveness of SBIRT in identifying and intervening in instances of substance use among youths. It presents a tool easily adopted by clinicians, with an impact on those youths at greatest risk of developing problematic alcohol use.

Considering the prevalence of alcohol use among youths with CMCs, an important aspect of the study by Weitzman et al³ is its low-touch intervention that can be easily adapted and implemented in a variety of clinical settings. Weitzman et al³ show the value of even simple, low-touch interventions in changing youth behavior. From the patient perspective, the use of an electronic tablet enhances privacy when answering questions and allows for flexibility in time spent on each piece of content. From the clinician perspective, the use of an electronic tablet requires minimal additional effort or training, standardizes the content provided, and allows for intervention completion outside of face-to-face appointment time. Yet despite its simplicity, the low-touch TGC intervention has been shown to exert a substantial effect on adolescent behavior. At 12 months, the reduction in alcohol use frequency among youths with a CMC and high-risk alcohol use represents not only a meaningful behavioral change but also an enduring one.

In contrast with traditional fear-based messages around alcohol prevention, Weitzman et al³ demonstrate the impact of a strengths-based model that engages the normal adolescent quest for independence and the examination of choice in larger contexts. The TGC intervention educated youths with a CMC on disease-specific processes, treatments, and effects of alcohol, thereby encouraging reflection around alcohol-related choices. In presenting this information for youths to consider, the intervention relayed respect for patients’ ability to engage in their own health care and health behaviors. Additionally, disease-tailored content paired with motivational information on health-protecting behaviors encouraged patients’ sense of autonomy and independence. The statistically significant effects of this approach suggest that personalized intervention resonates with youths with CMCs and is an effective tool for behavioral change. Furthermore, this delivery model allows for content to be tailored based on disease or other aspects of youths’ lived experience. Content adjusted to the needs of specific subpopulations of youths creates interventions that they connect with and are thus most greatly affected by, in both depth and longevity of impact.

Finally, key to the study by Weitzman et al³ is the intervention location; utilization of the specialty care setting for an alcohol use prevention intervention is novel and effective. Many youths with a CMC receive the majority of their care in the specialty care setting and, accordingly, often develop stronger therapeutic relationships with their specialty care physician than their primary care physician. In 41.3% of visits to their specialists, youths with a CMC present for routine preventative care,⁶ yet specialists screen for substance use at alarmingly low rates compared with their primary care counterparts (self-reported 8% vs 38%, respectively).⁷ Interventions within the specialty clinic space allow for greater potential to reach more youths with CMCs at critical moments in their health journeys, thereby curbing heavy alcohol use, its associated medication nonadherence, and potential interaction with medications. By doing so, this method of intervention may decrease disease-associated complications and mortality in addition to alcohol-associated complications and mortality among youths with CMCs, and by extension, the adults that they become. The TGC intervention and its broader application represent an exciting new paradigm for future practice.

Source: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2820973 July 2024