Screening and Behavioral Counseling Interventions in Primary Care to Reduce Alcohol Misuse

This topic is in the process of being updated. Please go to the Update in Progress section to see the latest documents available.

This topic page summarizes the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations on screening and behavioral counseling interventions in primary care to reduce alcohol misuse.

Current Recommendation

Release Date: April 2004

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends screening and behavioral counseling interventions to reduce alcohol misuse (go to Clinical Considerations) by adults, including pregnant women, in primary care settings.
Grade: B Recommendation.
The USPSTF concludes that the evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against screening and behavioral counseling interventions to prevent or reduce alcohol misuse by adolescents in primary care settings.
Grade: I Statement.

Supporting Documents

Recommendation Statement (PDF File, 200 KB; PDF Help)

Summary of the Evidence (PDF File, 418 KB; PDF Help)

Systematic Evidence Review

Update in Progress

In an effort to make the USPSTF recommendations clearer and its processes more transparent, the Task Force is sharing drafts of many of its documents for public comment, including draft Research Plans and draft Recommendation Statements. As a result, the final Recommendation Statement is not yet available.

Supporting Documents

Evidence Report

The research team at the Evidence-based Practice Center independently gathers and reviews the available published evidence to address the questions posed by the USPSTF. The resulting draft Evidence Report is critiqued by national subject matter experts before being finalized.

Evidence Report	Related Items
Evidence Report (PDF File, 209 KB; PDF Help)	Comparative Effectiveness Review (PDF File, 3.2 MB; PDF Help)

Recommendation Statement

The USPSTF reviews the Evidence Report, evaluates the benefits and harms of the clinical preventive service, and discusses and develops one or more preliminary specific recommendations. The resulting draft Recommendation Statement is posted on this Web site for public comment before being finalized.

Recommendation Statement	Related Items
Draft Recommendation Statement for Public Comment (September 24–October 22, 2012)	Consumer Fact Sheet (PDF File, 86 KB; PDF Help)

Current as of September 2012

Internet Citation:

Screening and Behavioral Counseling Interventions in Primary Care to Reduce Alcohol Misuse, Topic Page. September 2012. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsdrin.htm