Implementing Evidence-Based Mental Health Practices in Primary Care

This research study will examine the effectiveness of a brief, computerized motivational intervention plus treatment-as-usual to treatment-as-usual alone for treating alcohol misuse in veterans presenting to primary care. We aim to recruit 162 veterans screening positive on the AUDIT-C to participate in this study. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two intervention conditions and be asked to complete a baseline assessment and two follow-up assessments conducted at three and six months post treatment. Baseline assessments will be conducted in person by a trained research assistant, while all follow-up interviews will be conducted over the phone. The primary outcome for this clinical trial is the reduction in the number of heavy drinking days. Several secondary outcomes will be collected including health status, depressive symptoms, consequences of drinking, pain symptoms, and distress tolerance. The findings from this study may have large scale implications for how alcohol misuse is treated in primary care. In addition, this study will provide evidence for the feasibility of using the computer as a method for delivering evidence-based mental health interventions in primary care.