Preventing Harmful Alcohol Use Among Trauma Patients in Cameroon

NCT07677449 | Not Yet Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: SBIRT_UB
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 690
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

\*\*Brief Summary\*\* Alcohol use is a major contributor to injury burden in Cameroon, particularly among trauma patients presenting to emergency departments. Despite the strong association between alcohol use and injury, structured alcohol screening and intervention programs are not routinely integrated into trauma care in Cameroon. This study aims to evaluate a Cameroon-adapted Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) program for trauma patients at the Limbe Regional Hospital. The study will be conducted in three phases: (1) training emergency department healthcare providers on a culturally adapted SBIRT program; (2) evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity of SBIRT implementation in routine emergency care; and (3) assessing the effectiveness of SBIRT in reducing harmful alcohol use among trauma patients. Healthcare workers will be trained to deliver SBIRT, and eligible trauma patients screening positive for risky alcohol use will be enrolled in a randomized waitlist-controlled trial. Participants will undergo alcohol screening using validated tools and will be followed for six months. Outcomes will include alcohol use measured by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), phosphatidylethanol (PEth) biomarker levels, referral uptake, implementation outcomes, and patient well-being measures. The study is expected to generate evidence on the feasibility and effectiveness of integrating alcohol interventions into trauma care in a low-resource setting and inform future scale-up of SBIRT programs in Cameroon and similar settings.

Conditions

Alcohol Use Disorder; Alcohol-Related Injury; Trauma

Keywords

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD); Alcohol Screening; Alcohol-Related Injury; Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT); Brief Intervention; Emergency Department; Trauma Care; AUDIT-C; Referral to Treatment; Substance Use Intervention; Emergency Medicine; Implementation Science; Injury Prevention; Road Traffic Injury; Trauma Patients

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change in Alcohol Use at 6 Months

  Change in harmful alcohol use from baseline to 6 months following enrollment, measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C).

  Baseline and 6 months

• Change in Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) Levels

  Change in alcohol consumption measured using phosphatidylethanol (PEth), a biomarker of recent alcohol use, from baseline to 6 months.

  Baseline and 6 months

Secondary Outcomes (8)

• Alcohol Use at 1 Month

  1 month

• Alcohol Use at 3 Months

  3 Months

• PEth Levels at 1 Month

  1 Month

• PEth Levels at 3 months

  3 month

• Referral Uptake

  Within 6 months

Study Arms (2)

Immediate SBIRT

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive the Cameroon-adapted Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) program during their emergency department visit. The intervention includes alcohol screening, personalized feedback, a brief motivational interviewing-based counseling session, and referral to treatment when indicated.

Behavioral: Cameroon-Adapted SBIRT

Waitlist Control

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants receive usual care during the follow-up period and are offered the SBIRT intervention after completion of the six-month follow-up assessment.

Other: Usual Care

Interventions

Cameroon-Adapted SBIRT BEHAVIORAL

A culturally adapted Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) program delivered by trained emergency department healthcare workers. The intervention includes alcohol risk screening, brief motivational interviewing-based counseling, and referral to treatment when appropriate.

Immediate SBIRT

Usual Care OTHER

Standard emergency department care without structured SBIRT delivery during the study follow-up period. Participants are offered SBIRT after completing six months of follow-up.

Waitlist Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Adult trauma patients aged 18 years and older presenting to the Emergency Department of Limbe Regional Hospital.
• Positive alcohol screening based on the Single Alcohol Screening Question (SASQ).
• AUDIT-C score ≥4 for men or ≥3 for women.
• Able to provide informed consent.
• Resident within the study catchment area and available for follow-up.
• Access to a telephone or another reliable means of contact for follow-up assessments.

You may not qualify if:

• Severe cognitive impairment preventing participation in study procedures or - provision of informed consent.
• Severe traumatic brain injury or other medical condition requiring immediate life-saving intervention that precludes participation.
• Current psychosis or severe psychiatric illness preventing meaningful participation in the intervention.
• In police custody or other circumstances limiting ability to participate in follow-up.
• Planned relocation outside the study catchment area during the study follow-up period.
• Previously enrolled in the study.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Buea: lead

Study Sites (1)

Limbe Regional Hospital

Limbe, South-West Region, 00237, Cameroon

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Ngekeng S, Kibu O, Oke R, Bassah N, Touko DA, Yost MT, Dissak-Delon F, Tendongfor N, Nguefack-Tsague G, Hubbard A, McCoy SI, Christie SA, Chichom-Mefire A, Juillard C. Prehospital factors associated with mortality among road traffic injury patients: analysis of Cameroon trauma registry data. BMC Emerg Med. 2024 Oct 16;24(1):194. doi: 10.1186/s12873-024-01113-8.

  PMID: 39415156 BACKGROUND

• Ngekeng S, Oke R, Yost M, Dissak-Delon F, Hubbard A, McCoy SI, Christie A, Shoptaw S, Chichom-Mefire A, Juillard C. Prevalence and Factors Associated With Alcohol-Related Road Traffic Injuries in Cameroon. J Surg Res. 2024 Oct;302:116-124. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2024.07.050. Epub 2024 Aug 2.

  PMID: 39096740 BACKGROUND

• Babor TF, Del Boca F, Bray JW. Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment: implications of SAMHSA's SBIRT initiative for substance abuse policy and practice. Addiction. 2017 Feb;112 Suppl 2:110-117. doi: 10.1111/add.13675.

  PMID: 28074569 BACKGROUND

• Babor TF, McRee BG, Kassebaum PA, Grimaldi PL, Ahmed K, Bray J. Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT): toward a public health approach to the management of substance abuse. Subst Abus. 2007;28(3):7-30. doi: 10.1300/J465v28n03_03.

  PMID: 18077300 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alcoholism; Wounds and Injuries; Emergencies

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Alcohol-Related Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders; Disease Attributes; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Serge Ngekeng, PhD in Public Health

  University of Buea

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Serge Ngekeng, PhD in Public Health

CONTACT

+237675652562; sergengekeng@gmail.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Lecturer

Model Details: Participants who screen positive for risky alcohol use based on AUDIT-C criteria will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either an immediate intervention group or a waitlist-control group. Participants in the immediate intervention group will receive the Cameroon-adapted Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) program during their emergency department visit. Participants in the waitlist-control group will receive usual care during the study follow-up period and will be offered the SBIRT intervention after completion of the six-month follow-up assessment. All participants will undergo baseline assessment and follow-up evaluations at 1, 3, and 6 months. Outcomes will be compared between groups to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 19, 2026
• First Posted: June 30, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): March 1, 2027
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2030
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2030
• Last Updated: June 30, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CA (1)