Is clinicians' alcohol consumption associated with their preventive practices to reduce unhealthy alcohol use? A  systematic review of current evidence

Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2023 Feb 11. doi: 10.1111/acer.14962. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTClinicians' risk behaviors, including their personal alcohol use, may influence patients' attitudes and motivation to make changes in their lifestyle, as well as the provision of clinical preventive services to reduce unhealthy behaviors. The aim of the systematic review was to summarize the existing evidence on the association between clinicians' alcohol consumption and their preventive practices to reduce unhealthy alcohol use. The review was conducted following Cochrane guidelines and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement guidance. Three databases (Cochrane, MEDLINE, Web of Science) were queried from July 1, 2021, through November 30, 2021. We included quantitative observational studies reporting clinicians' alcohol use associations with relevant preventive practices. Two reviewers independently screened articles for inclusion, extracted data, and assessed the quality of selected studies. Ten studies, published from 1986 to 2018, were included. We found a statistically significant association between clinicians' alcohol consumption and their preventive practices to reduce unhealthy alcohol use in eight of the 10 studies. Clinicians who drank larger quantities of alcohol offered less screening and counseling to their patients about alcohol use. Clinicians who drank regularly (3 days a week or more) were less likely to screen for alcohol u...
Source: Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research - Category: Addiction Authors: Source Type: research