From: Brief interventions 2.0: a new agenda for alcohol policy, practice and research
Alcohol as a drug |
â—‹ Alcohol is a health harming drug that is often overlooked and is clinically relevant to all practitioner roles |
â—‹ Good practice necessarily requires discussion of alcohol, particularly in medications related work |
â—‹ Attention to alcohol can be integrated into routine consultations efficiently, allowing exploration of connections to medicines, conditions, adherence issues, and health more broadly |
Avoid moralising in discussing alcohol |
â—‹ Invite people to talk about their drinking in their own terms |
â—‹ Help people to think through whether drinking affects medicine use, conditions and health, to understand and manage the risks for themselves |
â—‹ Ascertain willingness to discuss alcohol in daily lives and the influences that shape drinking patterns |
â—‹ Appreciate that alcohol may be very briefly focused on for many, and a lot for some, with life course perspectives relevant |
â—‹ Invite people to talk about their drinking in their own terms |
Engage with alcohol issues in a person-centred manner |
â—‹ Appreciate that alcohol can be a difficult topic to raise in consultations for both parties, and can be raised in ways that avoid negative connotations |
â—‹ Do not push discussion of alcohol on to unwilling patients |
â—‹ Support patients in thinking further about, and making, decisions to improve their health and well-being by encouraging discussion of their concerns and priorities |
â—‹ Provide alternatives to unhelpful ways of thinking in addressing stereotypes, myths and stigma as opportunities arise |