Effectiveness Bank web site Matrix row
Supported by Alcohol Change UK web site. The national UK charity that aims to create evidence-driven change to reduce alcohol-related harm Alcohol Change UK
The national charity working
to end alcohol harm through
evidence-driven change
Alcohol Treatment Matrix row 1 Matrix Row logo
Research challenges expectations and ambitions
Research on the key public health strategy of finding and briefly advising risky drinkers exemplifies the main function of evaluation studies: not to confirm what we think we know, but to confound our expectations and force us to think again. Among the highlights from row 1 of the Alcohol Treatment Matrix were two important examples:

Scientifically developed ‘structured’ brief interventions were supposed to be an advance on unsophisticated warnings, but the most significant UK study to date (known as ‘SIPS’) could not show they were any more effective at curbing drinking, tempting a ‘Just do the minimum’ verdict. Read about the study and question with us whether that verdict was justified.

Not so long ago the ambition was to make screening and brief intervention a virtually universal component of general practice consultations and other clinical encounters, scaling up to achieve population-level health gains. Research showed instead that even strong incentives left most patients unreached, forcing a withdrawal to more modest aims. Follow the journey taken to this realisation by the UK’s leading brief intervention researcher.
Not an Effectiveness Bank subscriber? Join mailing list for research updates.
Alcohol Treatment Matrix for alcohol brief interventions and treatment
Drug Treatment Matrix for harm reduction and treatment in relation to illegal drugs
About the development and construction of the matrices
Share your discovery of the matrices by sending an email to your colleagues
The Drug and Alcohol Findings Effectiveness Bank offers a free mailing list service updating subscribers to UK-relevant evaluations of drug/alcohol interventions. Findings is supported by the Society for the Study of Addiction and Alcohol Research UK and advised by the National Addiction Centre.
View in browser Forward to friend Respond to editor@findings.org.uk
Forwarded to you? For your own mailings order FREE UPDATE SERVICE
Click below to share via your favourite social networks
*|SHARE:twitter,facebook,linkedin,google,digg|*
*|LIST:DESCRIPTION|*
Manage your subscription
Unsubscribe *|EMAIL|*