Feasibility of using an interactive laptop program in the emergency department to prevent alcohol misuse among adolescents

Study objective: Alcohol, the most commonly used substance among adolescents, is frequently associated with injury. Effective interventions to prevent adolescent alcohol use and misuse in acute care settings are lacking. A laptop-based alcohol prevention program could reinforce other prevention efforts that adolescents may receive. We determined the feasibility of using an interactive laptop program with adolescent emergency department (ED) patients to prevent alcohol use and misuse. Methods: We used the recruitment phase of a randomized controlled trial at an academic medical center and an urban teaching hospital. Patients were aged 14 to 18 years and presented within 24 hours of an acute injury. Measures included patient recruitment, mechanism of injury, injury severity score, alcohol use characteristics, and patients' opinion of the computer program. Results: Of 843 eligible patients, 671 (79.6%) were enrolled and 655 (77.7%) completed the program. Parent or guardian reluctance was the most frequent reason for refusal. The participants averaged 16.0 years of age (range 14 to 18 years; SD 1.5 years), 66.9% were male, and 68.3% were white. Approximately 71% reported "ever" drinking. Recent alcohol use (past 3 months) by those "ever" drinking was as follows: 62.3% drank, 31.2% got drunk, and 37.4% binge drank. Seventy-four percent of recent drinkers reported that the program made them rethink their alcohol use. Ninety-four percent of participants liked the program. Only 5.3% required assistance with the program. Conclusion: Use of an interactive computer program in the ED appears feasible. Further work is being done to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in reducing alcohol-related behaviors among adolescents.