Early Start is an obstetric clinic-based perinatal substance abuse treatment program in which a substance abuse treatment specialist is located in obstetric departments to conduct risk assessments, educational sessions, and brief interventions integrated with prenatal care. The purpose of this study is to implement an enhancement to Early Start which will include helping women recognize the actual quantity and frequency of alcohol they consume through the use of sample vessels, photographs of beverage containers, and a simple software application. The enhancement will also provide an educational component with the theme that it is never too late in a pregnancy to quit or cut down your drinking. All 19 clinics where Early Start is in operation have been randomized to either (1) usual care Early Start or (2) Early Start Plus, which is usual care Early Start plus the enhancement. Approximately 600 women at risk for alcohol problems during their pregnancy will be enrolled in each of these two arms of the study. The third arm is a control group of 600 comparison women with similar alcohol problems from a site where Early Start is not in operation and thus no Early Start intervention will occur. Evaluation of the success of the intervention enhancement will include comparison of rates of perinatal outcomes and decreases in maternal alcohol intake during the pregnancy among the 3 study arms. Progress to date on this 5-year study will be discussed, including development of the enhancement to the brief intervention and preliminary results.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will have learned about an innovative brief intervention designed to help people better quantify the true amount of alcohol they drink and will be able to evaluate its applicability to their clinic setting
Keywords: Alcohol Problems, Pregnancy
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.