Ten years ago, researchers in the Emergency Department of an Australian hospital provided a one off AOD counseling session to half of all young people admitted for complications of alcohol or other substance use. The other half were discharged from hospital without counseling. A decade later researchers are trawling health records to see if intervention had a long term effect.

Researchers at Western Australia's Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital  will be accessing Health Department records that include inpatient and outpatient admissions, midwifery, cancers, accidents, injuries and death, the researchers will be able to determine whether the intervention 10 years ago made a long-term difference to the young people’s lives. 

This is not the first review of the study. A review at the 12 month mark already showed the group who had experienced a brief counselling intervention had less subsequent admissions to ED for alcohol and substance issues.

YoDAA will be following this study and publishing findings as they are released. in the meantime, you can read more about the research here.