A comparison between telehealth and face-to-face delivery of a brief alcohol intervention for college students

Problematic alcohol use is a common occurrence among college students. While empirically supported interventions exist, their access is typically limited to those with greater resources. There has been an expansion of services provided via telehealth to increase client access to treatment in the health care field. However, the evidence is mixed regarding the effectiveness of face-to-face versus telehealth interventions and there is a gap in the literature regarding brief alcohol interventions delivered via telehealth. As such, the purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a well-validated brief alcohol screening and intervention for college students (BASICS) when conducted face-to-face or through a videoconferencing system. Method: Participants included 51 college students who engaged in heavy episodic drinking (5+ drinks for males and 4+ drinks for females over a two hour period) over the last two weeks. They were randomly assigned to receive the face-to-face or t