TABLE 1.
Service characteristics by trial arm at the end of 12‐month baseline period (52 678 clients; 142 519 observations). a
| Characteristic | Early support | Waiting‐list controls |
|---|---|---|
| Services | ||
| n | 11 | 11 |
| Mean clients per service (SD) | 3166 (2045.4) | 1623 (586.7) |
| Remoteness | ||
| Urban and inner regional | 5 | 5 |
| Outer regional and remote | 2 | 3 |
| Very remote | 4 | 3 |
| Clients | ||
| n | 34 829 | 17 849 |
| Mean age of clients (years) (SD) | 37.4 (16.0) | 37.8 (16.4) |
| Number of female clients (%) | 19 578 (56.2) | 10 009 (56.1) |
| Mean observations b per client (SD) | 2.7 (1.8) | 2.7 (1.7) |
| Clients screened with AUDIT‐C (%) | 5435 (15.6) | 3626 (20.3) |
| Mean AUDIT‐C score c (SD) | 3.5 (3.6) | 3.3 (3.5) |
| Clients with an AUDIT‐C > 0 c (%) | 3017 (55.5) | 2133 (58.8) |
| Clients recorded as receiving treatment for UAU d (%) | 199 (0.6) | 162 (0.9) |
| Clients recorded as receiving brief intervention (%) | 70 (0.2) | 109 (0.6) |
a
Baseline period: from 29 August 2016 to 30 August 2017, inclusive;
b
An observation appeared in the data set for a client if they attended their service for a consultation in the preceding 2‐month reference period at least once;
c
mean score among clients who had at least one recorded AUDIT‐C score;
d
UAU = unhealthy alcohol use; treatment as recorded in Communicare (i.e. advice recorded using selected clinical items or pharmacotherapies prescribed). SD = standard deviation; AUDIT‐C = Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test—Consumption.