Missing Opportunities in the Screening of Alcohol Use and Problematic Use, and the Provision of Brief Advice and Treatment Information Among Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to identify sociodemographic and substance-related factors associated with being screened, receiving advice or treatment information from healthcare providers, among individuals who met the criteria for the past 12-month alcohol use disorder (AUD).

METHODS: The 2015-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health data were analyzed to identify factors associated with being (1) asked about alcohol used among adults with AUD, who visited a healthcare provider within the past 12 months, and were not receiving AUD treatment (sample 1, n = 13,321); (2) asked about problematic use; (3) advised to reduce consumption; and (4) offered alcohol treatment information, among those in sample 1 who were asked about their use (n = 6,905).

RESULTS: About half (52.9%) in sample 1 were asked about their alcohol use. Among them, 21.6% were asked about problematic use, 17.7% were advised to reduce alcohol consumption, and 7.6% were offered information. The odds of being asked about alcohol use among male participants were 0.72 times the odds of female participants; however once asked, male participants showed greater odds of being asked about problematic use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.29-1.82), advised to reduce consumption (aOR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.24-2.16), and offered treatment information (aOR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.34-2.35). As compared with non-Hispanic White participants, other racial/ethnic groups were less likely to be asked about alcohol use; however, once asked, no differences were observed for other outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS: Significant gaps in the screening and provision of advice or treatment information were identified, particularly for racial/ethnic and sex subgroups. Reducing barriers for effective screening could help address AUD-related disparities.