Alcohol dependence syndrome and before-discharge intervention method (BDIM) --Report 2. Statistical analysis of BDIM
Ino, A.
Nihon Arukoru Yakubutsu Igakkai Zasshi 39(1): 78-88
2004
ISSN/ISBN: 1341-8963 PMID: 15058097 Document Number: 577886
The present author has developed the structured Before-Discharge Intervention Method (BDIM), a modified version of the intervention methods by Johnson and Picard in an effort to achieve the patient's awareness of his/her problem drinking. The BDIM first involves the patient's family members and helps them recover from co-dependence on the patient's alcoholism and secondly, instructs them to write structured letters to the patient. Each letter should include a few episodes of recent and past drinking problems, and family members' concern and love for the patient, and family members' hope for his/her patient's abstinence. Family members read the letter with emotion and tears in a joint therapist, patient, family members session. We have reported the two-year-post-treatment outcome of group I (the BDIM-treated group) and group II (the BDIM-untreated group) here. Patients living with their spouse or significant other in group I of the series of new patients did significantly better than their counterpart in group II on two treatment outcome variables, that is, family members' attendance at hospital follow-up sessions and/or self-help group meetings, abstinence of the patients who and whose family members attended hospital follow-up sessions and/or self-help group meetings. Patients living with their spouse or significant other in group I of the series of all patients did significantly better than their counterpart in group II on three treatment outcome variables, that is, patients' attendance at hospital follow-up sessions and/or self-help group meetings, family members' attendance at hospital follow-up sessions and/or self-help group meetings, abstinence of the patients who attended hospital follow-up sessions and/or self-help group meetings. But we noted no other statistically significant difference between groups I and II in any of the other two subgroups of discharged patients or in any of the treatment outcome variables. In group I in the series of new patients, 49% of the patients who lived with their spouse and/or significant other attended hospital follow-up sessions and/or self-help group meetings, and 41% of them showed abstinence. In group I in the series of all patients, 49% of inpatients who lived with their spouse and/or significant other attended hospital follow-up sessions and/or self-help group meetings, and 40% of them showed abstinence. We grant that the current study was not conducted in a random patient assignment design and, therefore, needs to be interpreted with some caution. Further research is appropriate.