"Effectiveness of a Brief Intervention for Substances Consumption Linked to the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST): A Randomized Control Trial in Chilean Primary Care."
"Effectiveness of a Brief Intervention for Substances Consumption Linked to the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST): A Randomized Control Trial in Chilean Primary Care."
Alcohol and drugs consumption are among the highest risk factor for health in Chile and
 abroad. In Chile, harmful use of alcohol continues to be a major contributor to the burden of
 disease while lost years of healthy life are higher than many other risk factors such as
 hypertension, overweight and obesity, and hyperglycemia. It is important to say that the
 impact of alcohol consumption is greater in younger age groups where fatal injuries occur
 relatively early in life, as well.

 In Chile, the consumption pattern in 2008 showed that 49.8 % consumed at least once in the
 last month for alcohol, 3.5 % for marihuana and 1.3 % for cocaine. This prevalence was even
 greater in young adults and adolescents and is associated with other mental health issues and
 poorer life quality. Those who have consumed marihuana during the last year, 25% report
 dependence symptoms. For cocaine derives, dependency rises up to 50% among the consumers.
 This data reinforce the need to design and implement strategies for reducing alcohol and
 drugs consumption in our population.

 Also, it is well known that a high number of those who suffers from any addiction problem do
 not get attention in a specialized center. The are many barriers to do so, such as lack of
 motivation, lack of resources, social problems, access to care problems, and so on.

 Chile has a shortage of preventive interventions for those at risk to develop an addiction at
 an early stage of substance use because front line health services (Primary health care and
 emergency care) and other social services (police stations, local justice courts) do not have
 a screening system and a model of brief intervention.

 The Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, through its Addiction Studies Center (CEDA UC)
 and its Department of Family Medicine, is working in conjunction with SENDA (Servicio
 Nacional para la Prevención y Rehabilitación del Consumo de Drogas y Alcohol ) to design,
 implement and evaluate a communal system for early detection, brief intervention and referral
 to treatment (SBIRT), in people older than 18 years, with substance consumption in five
 municipalities in the country.

 The aid of this study is to demonstrate that a model of brief intervention is more effective
 than the approach currently used in patients with substance use at moderate risk
 (i.e.follow-up). It is a multicentric randomized controlled trial, single blind, with a group
 to receive brief intervention and a control group that is kept in control and waiting list
 being re-evaluated three months later.

 The target population is composed by users whose ASSIST screening scores place them in the
 moderate risk group, for which there has not been defined a structured intervention yet by
 our health system. The information will be obtained from the scores obtained after the
 application of the ASSIST-WHO questionnaire.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Men and women older than 18 years and 50 years

 -  Achieving a moderate risk score in the ASSIST screening questionnaire.

 -  Without any similar intervention in the last 3 months. (ie. AUDIT test).

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Pregnant women.

 -  Users with cognitive disabilities.

 -  Users with language and communication disabilities.