A Web App for Patients With Alcohol and Drug Use Problems in Primary Care

The overall objective of this project is to develop, evaluate, and disseminate a web application called Check-up and Choices (CC). CC will be developed for use in primary care. It would tightly integrate screening for heavy drinking and drug use, a brief motivational intervention for hazardous or heavy drinkers, a moderation training protocol for less dependent problem drinkers, and an abstinence-oriented protocol for more dependent drinkers and drug abusers. The brief motivational intervention will be tailored to the patient's age. Its purpose will be to motivate problem drinkers to change their drinking. The action-oriented moderation and abstinence protocols are cognitive-behavioral interventions (CBIs) that provide patients with the skills to maximize their chances of success with changing their drinking and/or drug use.

The investigators have already developed these elements but they are not integrated into a single program with appropriate branching between them. Nor has the content been tailored for use in primary care.

Inclusion criteria

• physicians,
• nurses,
• nurse practitioners,
• physician's assistants,
• psychologists embedded in primary care settings, and
• other mental health counselors embedded in primary care settings.