Brief Intervention by Community Health Workers for Unhealthy Drinking in Latinos

Latinos will comprise nearly 30% of the population by 2050, and socially disadvantaged Latinos experience a greater burden of poor health and negative social consequences related to their alcohol use than non-Latino Whites. The burden of poor health related to alcohol use also suggests the need for early identification and intervention before alcohol use progresses to a more serious condition requiring intensive treatment. Despite the need for services, low treatment utilization rates and poor treatment retention suggest it is important to make alcohol interventions more accessible for Latinos. Spanish-language motivational interventions have been shown to reduce heavy drinking in diverse populations, yet access to these types of interventions remains a limitation. Community health workers are an effective way to help under-served populations manage chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension, but they have been used very little in addiction services. Preliminary evidence from a randomized pilot trial suggested that an intervention integrating Motivational Enhancement Therapy and Strengths Based Case Management (hereafter referred to as MET/SBCM) led to greater reductions in alcohol use compared to a brief feedback condition among socially disadvantaged Spanish speaking Latino male day laborers who were heavy drinkers. Multi-level interventions such as MET/SBCM that target the complex individual- and community-level needs for health-disparities populations are highly recommended as a strategy to improve population health. In that pilot trial the MET/SBCM intervention was provided in Spanish by community health workers (promotores) with high fidelity and participants reported high treatment satisfaction. The results are encouraging for moving forward with additional efforts to study alcohol interventions delivered by community health workers. Based on these promising but preliminary findings, we propose to test the multi-level MET/SBCM intervention targeting a broader population of socially disadvantaged Latinos who engage in unhealthy drinking. For the proposed study a partnership will be formed between UCLA and a large community-based healthcare organization, Providence Center for Community Health Improvement (Providence) to conduct a phase 2 randomized controlled trial. Providence has a well established Latino Health Promoter Program that serves a large population of Latinos, most of whom have low income, low education status and limited English proficiency. The MET-SBCM intervention, to be conducted by promotores at Providence, is thus poised to provide Latinos access to a needed health service for unhealthy alcohol use. If successful, the study will extend the potential reach and impact of brief alcohol intervention for Latinos in the general population.

Primary Aim #1 is to determine the efficacy of the MET/SBCM intervention compared to an educational booklet control condition in reducing alcohol use and alcohol-related problems among Latinos who report exceeding US low-risk drinking guidelines (for men: 5 or more drinks weekly or 15 or more drinks in a given week; for women: 4 or more drinks weekly or 8 or more drinks in a given week).

Hypothesis 1: Participants assigned to a 3-session MET/SBCM intervention will show decreases in the average drinks consumed per week, the frequency of heavy drinking days, and alcohol-related problems at 3- and 6-month follow-ups compared to participants assigned to the educational booklet control condition.

Primary Aim #2 is to determine the efficacy of the MET/SBCM intervention in increasing utilization of community services (e.g., job services, housing assistance, food assistance, mental health services) among Latinos who report exceeding US low-risk drinking guidelines.

Hypothesis 2: Participants assigned to the MET/SBCM intervention will utilize more types of services by the 3- and 6-month follow-ups compared to participants assigned to the educational booklet control condition.

Primary Aim #3 is to examine mechanisms of behavior change underlying observed MET/SBCM intervention effects on alcohol use (or in the event the intervention is not effective, to identify negative findings in the causal chains). Candidate mechanisms are selected based on theory and the extant literature on brief motivation-based interventions and strengths-based case management. The mechanisms will include (1) readiness to change, (2) perceived reward value and risks associated with alcohol use, (3) perception of drinking norms, (4) change talk, (5) general self-efficacy, (6) self-esteem and (7) utilization of community services. We predict that changes in these mechanisms by the 3-month follow-up will mediate the effects of the intervention on average drinks per week at the 6-month follow-up.

The overarching goal of this project is to establish an evidence base for an intervention approach that is ultimately sustainable by a large community-based organization serving Latinos. Working with community health workers positions this intervention to address larger health disparities within this community. The project is significant in its efforts to improve the reach and impact of effective alcohol interventions among socially disadvantaged Latinos, thereby contributing to improved population health.