Keywords: brief intervention, alcohol, screening

Aim:

In 2016 about 80 000 people died of alcohol-attributable cancer in the European Union (‎EU)‎. As part of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the EU aims to reduce harms due to alcohol consumption through collaboration from the WHO Europe in the WHO/EU Evidence into Action Alcohol Project (EVID-ACTION) 2022. One of best practices for reducing alcohol consumption and harms is to facilitate access to screening, brief interventions and treatment. In 2022, semFYC published the Brief Guide for screening and brief intervention in risky and harmful alcohol consumption in Primary Care. The objectives of the guide are to provide a simple way to identify people whose alcohol consumption may represent a risk to their health to support healthcare professionals to develop an intervention plan and provide patients with personalized advice that can be used to motivate them to change their alcohol consumption. Available in https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nBCUP0ukVpLvrZQmZZbOr9HESNadTIMe/view
The objective of this communication is to highlight the main characteristics of the Guide and the most relevant developments.

Method:

The new guide has been prepared after an exhaustive review of international guides

Results:

The new guide introduces a definition of terms used on concepts related to alcohol consumption, an algorithm on how to screen and carry out a brief intervention, and elements to discuss with the patient according to their alcohol consumption. It comes in an easy-read format, enabling easy implementation amongst PCP. It expands on the importance of communication skills and person-centered care, aswell as it provides information on problem-solving steps. The guide ends with resources to refer to specialized services when necessary. The guide is available free of charge for downloads.

Conclusions:

The new guideline may make it more feasible for the guideline to be implemented. The introduction of clear algorithms and mention of communications skills can also help.