Efficacy of Brief Interventions in Reducing Hazardous or Harmful Alcohol Use in Middle-Income Countries: Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Aims: The aim of this paper is to systematically review the efficacy of alcohol brief intervention in middle-income countries.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of face-to-face brief motivational intervention aimed at reducing heavy alcohol use conducted in middle-income countries were identified through electronic databases: Medline, EMBASE and Cochrane Library published up to and including 2015. Methodological quality assessment of the RCTs was made by using two validated tools.

Results: Nine RCTs of alcohol brief intervention in middle-income countries met the review's inclusion criteria. The results of five trials suggest a benefit for brief intervention in reducing self-reported hazardous or harmful alcohol use. Methodological quality was found to be adequate using a standard tool, without any serious methodological issues or biases in more than half of the selected trials. The content of brief intervention was based on the principles of motivational interviewing and was delivered by trained nurses in almost all the trials.

Conclusion: This systematic review of RCTs on alcohol brief intervention conducted in middle-income countries suggests that brief intervention can help reduce self-reported hazardous or harmful alcohol use in primary-care population.