An Exploration of the Role of the Occupational Therapist in the Delivery of Alcohol Brief Interventions

Scotland is globally renowned for its association with alcohol; however this relationship has become unhealthy. The purchase and consumption of alcohol exceeds recommended daily limits, and this is having a significant impact upon the population's health. Preventative measures have been introduced, one of these being alcohol brief interventions. These are a short, informal discussion between a health professional and a client about their alcohol consumption. Alcohol brief interventions are used to raise awareness about the individual's alcohol use, and introduce the idea of whether they would consider making changes to their drinking behaviour. By encouraging individuals to adopt a healthier attitude to alcohol, the risk of future harm can be lowered. Alcohol brief interventions are currently being used in a few key areas of healthcare, however aims for the future point towards a wider range of settings. A review of the literature found that alcohol brief interventions do not require specialist staff, meaning that all healthcare staff have the ability to use them. This review also highlighted the contribution occupational therapists can make to this practice. However, some criticisms were noted with regards to how beneficial they are, and barriers appeared to exist with regards to staff using them. This review indicated that studies exploring the views of the staff implementing alcohol brief interventions would be beneficial. The proposed qualitative study will involve a focus group discussion with a group of occupational therapists from varying settings of the same hospital. The study aims to explore what their views are of the use of alcohol brief interventions within their setting, and investigate whether perceptions of their use are similar or vary between settings.bsc_occunpub1688_ethesesunpu