Tailoring Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment for Medical ICU Survivors

Unhealthy alcohol use is present in up to 38% of the 4 million patients admitted to an
American intensive care unit (ICU) each year in the US. Despite the high prevalence of
unhealthy alcohol use in ICU survivors, routine interventions targeted at reducing alcohol
consumption, alcohol-related consequences, and illness related to alcohol are not currently
part of the multidisciplinary approach to critical care. Although screening, brief
intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) has been described in several healthcare
settings, it fails to address common characteristics of medical ICU survivors including high
rates of alcohol use disorders, cognitive dysfunction, psychiatric comorbidities, and
intimate involvement of friends and family. This study uses a qualitative approach to further
understand the needs of medical ICU survivors with unhealthy alcohol use. The investigators
hypothesize that there are common, modifiable barriers to improving alcohol-related outcomes