Effectiveness of a nurse-led telephonic brief intervention to reduce risky alcohol use among women in primary care in Brazil: a randomized controlled trial
In brief
Nurse phone counseling lowered risky drinking scores for six months in Brazilian women
In a randomized trial of 151 women in Brazilian primary care, nurse-delivered phone counseling reduced alcohol-risk scores over the first six months, while scores rose over time among women who received feedback only. The benefit weakened with longer follow-up, so a single call may not sustain change; whether booster contacts help remains unknown.
- Journal
- Archives of women's mental health (Q1)
- Published
- 2 October 2026
- Study design
- Randomized controlled trial
- Evidence level
- Level 1, High (CEBM 1b)
- Authors
- Ana Vitória Corrêa Lima, Jéssica Lima De Oliveira Pinheiro Gaia, Divane De Vargas
- PMID
- 42825934
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00737-026-01772-5
Why clinicians should know about it
- Picked for Psychiatry and Mental Health (paper of the day, 3 October 2026): Nurse‑led telephonic brief intervention for risky alcohol use
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Despite the increase in alcohol use among women worldwide, evidence on scalable, gender-responsive interventions remains limited, particularly in primary-care settings. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a nurse-delivered, telephonic brief intervention (BI) for reducing risky and harmful alcohol use among women. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial included 151 women recruited from four primary-care facilities in São Paulo, Brazil, who scored 8-19 on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG), which received a nurse-delivered telephone BI, or a control group (CG), which received feedback only. The primary outcome was the change in AUDIT scores assessed longitudinally from baseline through 24 months of follow-up. RESULTS: In women receiving the telephonic BI, AUDIT scores significantly reduced during the first 6 months postintervention. Although this benefit was attenuated over longer-term follow-up, AUDIT scores in the control group followed an increasing trajectory over time. Race and household income were significantly associated with AUDIT scores; this suggests that socioeconomic factors may influence patterns of alcohol-related risk and intervention outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: A nurse-delivered telephonic BI produced meaningful short- to medium-term reductions in risky and harmful alcohol use among women in the primary-care setting. The attenuation of effects beyond 6 months suggests that a single brief intervention may be insufficient to sustain behavioral change over the long term and supports the evaluation of booster sessions or other low-intensity follow-up strategies. As a low-cost and scalable approach that can be integrated into routine primary care, telephonic BI may expand access to alcohol-related preventive care for women, particularly in resource-constrained settings. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: RBR-6msv2kv.
Abstract as published, via PubMed.
For healthcare professionals. The summary is generated by AI from the published abstract, and the evidence level is assigned automatically from the study design on the Oxford CEBM hierarchy. Neither is medical advice. Read the full paper before changing practice.