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Abstract
This article describes the use of the Early Detection of Alcohol Consumption (EDAC) test to guide decisions about repeat intoxicated driver risk in Dane County. Testing was conducted during the assessment interview (baseline) and every three months for a 12-month follow-up period. The EDAC identified 28% (25/89) of drivers as heavy drinkers even though 60% (15/25) of them reported full abstinence the month before testing. This information helped the assessors address drivers' state of denial at baseline and provided a more effective treatment plan based on each driver's needs. During follow-up, 30% of these drivers abstained from drinking, 34% experienced a relapse, and 35% became noncompliant with biomarker testing. Of those who relapsed, 68% returned to abstinence after biomarker information was used as brief intervention to encourage abstinence. These results are contributing to the implementation of evidence based practices in highway safety and are setting up new guidelines in Wisconsin counties as tools to assess risk and prolong recovery in repeat intoxicated drivers.
Notes
This study was supported by grant contracts #81535 and #81877 from the Dane County Department of Human Services in Madison, Wisconsin. The authors want to thank Dane County Executives Kathleen Falk and Joe Parisi for their support of this project. The authors report no other financial support or affiliations.
aDefined as an average of four drinks daily for males and three drinks daily for females the month prior to their assessment interviews.