Implementation Protocol To Increase Problematic Alcohol Use Screening and Brief Intervention in Brazil’s National Health System

Abstract

Heavy drinking, defined as the consumption of five or more doses of alcoholic beverages on a single occasion by men or four for women at least once in the last 2 weeks (Macinko et al. 2015), has become a major health issue in Brazil. In primary care settings, screening and brief intervention reduces heavy drinking (Kaner et al. 2018; Soares and Vargas 2019), yet it is rarely used in Brazil (Macinko et al. 2015). This protocol describes a screening and brief intervention implementation feasibility study to be implemented in Rio de Janeiro’s Family Health Strategy primary care units.