The role of brief interventions and motivational interviewing in alcohol reduction for adult women in primary care

Alcohol use is a widely accepted part of Canadian society, however the prevalence of use among Canadian women is increasing. Evidence supports that long-term alcohol related risk and harms escalate more dramatically and at lower doses than that of men, yet research is limited on appropriate interventions for adult women not otherwise captured within obstetric care. Although adult women are frequent users of primary care, screening, and early intervention for problematic drinking is lacking. The purpose of this integrative review is to appraise the existing evidence to determine the role of brief interventions and motivational interviewing in reducing alcohol consumption for adult women in the primary care setting. Recent guideline updates in Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health (Paradis, 2023) to reduce health impacts of alcohol on women, as well as the sex and gender related factors that contribute to health effects of alcohol on women demonstrate the importance of prevention and early intervention. Brief interventions and motivational interviewing have shown limited effectiveness for improving awareness of health effects of alcohol on women and reducing alcohol intake in a patient centered care model. Further research is recommended to improve the quality of evidence and generalizability of practice standards of alcohol use health care related to adult women for primary care providers such as nurse practitioners, family physicians and other allied health professionals.