Aims: The aim of this study was to determine predictors for openness to alcohol-related counselling among general hospital patients with alcohol problems. We wanted to test whether those with less severe alcohol problems and those with a lack of motivation for behaviour charge or with a lack of motivation to seek help would agree to participate in alcohol-related counselling.
Method: A total of 1150 hospital patients with alcohol dependence, alcohol abuse, at-risk drinking or excessive drinking were interviewed. They were asked about their attitude towards alcohol-related counselling, about their motivation to change their drinking and about their motivation to seek professional help. A multi-variable logistic regression analysis was calculated to determine predictors for agreement to counselling.
Results: A total of 66 % of all participants agreed to receive information on professional help and on how they could help themselves. Among these were 77 % of the alcohol dependent participants and 56 % of the non-dependent participants. Motivation to change and motivation to seek help were identified as the most significant predictors for agreement to counselling. However, 63 % of the participants open for counselling were not yet ready to change their habits and 62 % were not yet ready to seek profession help.
Conclusion: The majority of hospital patients with less severe alcohol problems as well as the majority of hospital patients not ready to seek more intensive professional help were open for alcohol-related counselling. Given a systematic screening, this opens up the opportunity for addiction counsellors, hospital physicians or nurses to actively offer counselling.