duction: There is a strong body of evidence
demonstrating the effectiveness of brief interventions
by primary care professionals for risky drinkers.
However, implementation levels remain low because of
time constraints and other factors. Facilitated access to
an alcohol reduction website offers primary care
professionals a time-saving alternative to standard
face-to-face intervention, but it is not known whether it
is as effective.
Methods and analysis: A randomised controlled
non-inferiority trial for risky drinkers comparing
facilitated access to a dedicated website with standard
face-to-face brief intervention to be conducted in
primary care settings in the Region of Friuli Giulia
Venezia, Italy. Adult patients will be given a leaflet
inviting them to log on to a website to complete the
Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C)
alcohol screening questionnaire. Screen positives will
be requested to complete an online trial module
including consent, baseline assessment and
randomisation to either standard intervention by the
practitioner or facilitated access to an alcohol reduction
website. Follow-up assessment of risky drinking will be
undertaken online at 1 month, 3 months and 1 year
using the full AUDIT questionnaire. Proportions of
risky drinkers in each group will be calculated and
non-inferiority assessed against a specified margin of
10%. Assuming a reduction of 30% of risky drinkers
receiving standard intervention, 1000 patients will be
required to give 90% power to reject the null
hypothesis.
Ethics and dissemination: The protocol was
approved by the Isontina Independent Local Ethics
Committee on 14 June 2012. The findings of the
trial will be disseminated through peer-reviewed
journals, national and international conference
presentations and public events involving the local
administrations of the towns where the trial
participants are resident.
