Center & Other Research

ER Screening for Alcohol Problems in the U.S. & Mexico

Description:
The aims of this Developmental Grant for Collaborative International Projects were to: (1) compare the sensitivity, specificity and efficiency of standard screening instruments and items for identifying harmful drinking and alcohol dependence among injured and non-injured Hispanic emergency room patients in California and in Mexico; (2) examine new measures which may be more efficient in identifying alcohol problems in Hispanic emergency room populations in California and Mexico; (3) compare the sensitivity, specificity and efficiency of screening instruments and items in the California and Mexico ER samples with their respective general populations. This project builds on and extends work funded by NIAAA to test standard screening instruments for harmful drinking/abuse and alcohol dependence in a largely Hispanic (specifically, Mexican American) emergency room (ER) population at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose (Santa Clara County), California. The project also builds on and extends work currently being carried out by the Mexican Institute of Psychiatry in three emergency rooms in Pachuca, Hidalgo, as part of a larger project of alcohol abuse, consequences, prevention and treatment, funded by the Mexican National Council of Technology and Science and the Ministry of Health.