Using Video Conferencing to Deliver a Brief Motivational Intervention for Alcohol and Sex Risk to Emergency Department Patients: a Proof-of-concept Pilot Study

Brief motivational intervention (MI) is an efficacious approach to reduce heavy drinking and associated sexual risk behavior among patients in Emergency Department (ED) settings, but the intensity of demands placed on ED staff makes the implementation of in-person MIs logistically challenging. This proof-of-concept pilot study examined the acceptability and logistic feasibility of using video-conferencing technology to deliver an MI targeting heavy drinking and risky sexual behavior to patients in an ED setting. Rigorous screening procedures were employed to ensure that the pilot sample represents the target portion of patients in the ED who would benefit from this multi-target MI. Mixed qualitative and quantitative data from a sample of seven patients in ED (57% Female; M-age=35 years) who received MI by video conference consistently demonstrated high levels of satisfaction, engagement, and acceptability. The observed completion rate supports logistic feasibility, and feedback by patient identified methods to improve the experience by using high-definition hardware, ensuring stronger network connectivity, and effectively communicating information regarding protection of privacy. Post-intervention patient ratings and independent ratings of the audio-recorded sessions (using the Motivational Interviewing Skills Coding system) were very high, suggesting that intervention fidelity and MI adherence was not compromised by delivery modality. Collectively, these data suggest video conferencing is a viable technology that can be employed to implement brief evidence-based MIs in ED settings.