Critical Appraisal of a Piece of Research - Essay Example

frequently not implemented in health care systems because of doctors being unwilling to take the initiative to discuss alcohol problems with their patients. With decrease in state controls on the availablility of alcohol, effective interventions are required, which can be administered to many people with the purpose of reducing the demand for alcohol. Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) is an approach which systematically identifies people with hazardous drinking, and provides concise advice on reducing this behaviour (Kypri et al 2004).

Yes, a double-blind randomized controlled trial, the study used a random method of selecting an experimental group and a control group, at the university student health service. Participants scoring 8 or more on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and consuming more than 4 to 6 standard drinks, both males and females, on one or more occasions in the previous 4 weeks were assigned randomly by computer to either the control group or the intervention. The computer carried out the randomization in blocks of 10 consisting of 5 control and 5 intervention, so that equal numbers of participants could be recruited in a short period in both groups.

Equal numbers of men and women were ensured through separate recruitment by sex (Kypri et al 2004). Yes, a total of 167 students in the age group of 17 to 26 years were recruited. They were required to complete a three-minute web-based screening test “including the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire” (Kypri et al 2004, p.1410). Of the 167 students, 112 tested positive; from among them a total number of 104 students including 52 women who had agreed to receive the follow-up intervention participated in the trial.

The participants were randomized to two groups: the intervention group of 51 students who received 10 to 15 minutes of web-based assessment and personalized feedback on their drinking, and the control group of 53 students who received