The Effect of Health Education and Brief Intervention on Alcohol Consumption in Sabah, East Malaysia
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Abstract
Introduction: Despite tremendous efforts screening and brief interventions, alcohol consumption in Sabah, the effectiveness of health education and brief interventions has been limited. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of health education and brief interventions in mitigating alcohol-related consumption risks among Sabah populations.Materials and methods: A comparative (intervention versus control groups; 1:1) cross-sectional study was conducted utilizing a validated Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire to categorize alcohol use disorders among the participants. Health education and alcohol brief interventions (ABIs) were offered to participants with a score of X or higher on AUDIT score, while the control group were devoid of any intervention. Subsequently, AUDIT measurement was repeated for both groups after six (6) months to evaluate the efficacy of health education and intervention on alcohol consumption among the participants. Results: The study included 766 participants mainly of Kadazan-dusun (the major ethnic group in Sabah). Overall, higher number of participants in the intervention group were abstainers as compared to the control group at six months (19.7% versus 1.4%, respectively). Similarly, decreasing numbers of low risks, hazardous and dependent types of drinkers were observed in the interventional group as compared the control group (21% versus 28.3%, 4.4% versus 4.8% and 1.7% versus 5.1%, respectively). The intervention group exhibited a mean change in the AUDIT score from 7.27 to 5.93, reflecting a decrease of -1.34 (see Table 3). In contrast, the control group experienced a mean change in the AUDIT score from 7.09 to 6.86, indicating a lesser change of -0.23. It's noteworthy that the negative sign in both instances suggests an increase in the AUDIT score, which could imply a deterioration in alcohol use within the studied groups. Overall, the findings showed significant differences in the AUDIT score after adjusted for gender, age and ethnicity (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Alcohol health education and interventions have benefits for those with alcohol use problems. Importantly, there were differences in outcome between the intervention and control groups. The AUDIT provided an effective means of identifying those who are at risk of subsequent alcohol-related admissions and may benefit from intervention.
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