Implications of Personal Hygiene Practices on Bacterial Transmission

Computerized Alcohol Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment in the Emergency Department Christine Le & Kathy Phan Mentor: Federico Vaca Alcohol has been found to be associated with liver disease, heart disease, pancreatitis, sleep disorders, depression, injuries, and some forms of cancer. In the United States, over seven million annual Emergency Department (ED) visits are attributable to alcohol use. An ED visit serves as an important “teachable moment,” to educate patients about the effects of alcohol consumption on health and motivate them to reduce their alcohol consumption levels to healthier limits. In June 2006, the University of California, Irvine Medical Center (UCIMC) Emergency Department implemented a Computerized Alcohol Screening and Intervention (CASI) kiosk with the objective of screening adult patients who visit the ED for possible alcohol use problems. CASI stores the anonymous responses of each patient who is screened and categorizes them as non, light, at-risk or dependent drinkers as outlined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) guidelines. Data were analyzed to describe the population who encountered CASI. The analysis showed that the percentage of individuals with alcohol use problems decreased with increasing age. The data also showed that the drinking pattern of Spanish speaking participants was significantly different compared to English speakers. Finally, the main reason patients at risk for alcohol use problems chose to change or would change their drinking habits was to avoid health problems. This study is part of a State-funded ongoing study aimed at motivating behavioral changes in populations at risk for harmful and hazardous drinking.