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SAMHSA News Room
Contact Media Services: (240) 276-2130

SAMHSA News Bulletin

Date: 5/14/2007
Media Contact: SAMHSA Press Office
Telephone: 240-276-2130

New Guide Helps Trauma Centers Identify and Treat Problem Drinking

A new guide from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helps health care professionals incorporate substance abuse treatment into trauma care.

Because excessive drinking is a risk factor for injuries and nearly half of trauma center patients can test positive for alcohol, centers need a strategy for dealing with hazardous drinking behavior. Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) for Trauma Patients: Committee on Trauma Quick Guide helps trauma centers understand how substance abuse treatment can fit into their routine care.

Trauma center staff will learn about a variety of screening methods to identify problem drinking and how to address the needs of patients who still have enough control over their drinking that they can be motivated to cut down or quit.

A collaborative effort for SAMHSA with the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the guide represents a significant milestone in efforts to integrate substance abuse treatment with primary and general care.

Although the guide is aimed at Level I and Level II trauma centers, smaller trauma centers, emergency rooms, clinics and primary care physicians will also find screening methods and intervention scenarios that they can incorporate.

Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) for Trauma Patients: Committee on Trauma Quick Guide is available on the Web at http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=17652. Copies may be obtained free of charge by calling SAMHSA’s Health Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727). Request inventory number SMA 07-4266. For related publications and information, visit http://www.samhsa.gov/.

SAMHSA is a public health agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation's substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment, and mental health services delivery system.


Page Last Updated: 5/14/2007