Clinical Research Directory

The 15-Mental Project: Implementation and Evaluation of the 15-Mental in a Mental Health Hospital Setting

The present project will implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a novel, but simple model for addressing and treating alcohol problems among patients admitted to outpatient treatment at mental health hospitals, called the '15-Mental'. The 15-Mental supports healthcare professionals in addressing patients' use of alcohol and in helping patients reduce their intake of alcohol if the alcohol intake potentially may affect the patients' primary illness, symptoms, and/or treatment course. The 15-Mental is based on the 15-Method that was originally developed as a toolbox for clinicians in general practice. In 2024, the 15-Method was feasibility-tested in a mental health setting, and based on the feasibility study, the 15-Mental was developed as an adapted version of the original 15-Method. The present study aims to assess if the 15-Mental, adapted particularly to mental health settings, will lead to a reduction in the proportion of patients with a risky alcohol intake. It will also be investigated if successful implementation of the model will increase patients' adherence to treatment for mental health disorders, prevent premature dropout of treatment, and increase the patients' quality of life. Furthermore, staff's and patients' perspectives on and experiences with the 15-Mental will be explored.

Identification and Treatment of Alcohol Problems in Primary Care

The Identification and Treatment of Alcohol Problems in Primary Care (iTAPP) Study is a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled intervention trial evaluating the effectiveness of the 15-Method as an identification and treatment tool for alcohol-related problems in Danish general practice. The 15-Method combines evidence-based approaches from specialized addiction treatment with screening and readily available treatment options in general practice to help identify and treat alcohol problems in a primary care setting. The method has shown promising results as a treatment tool in Sweden. A feasibility study of the 15-Method in Denmark suggested that the method can be implemented in Danish general practice. The trial is led by the Unit for Clinical Alcohol Research at The University of Southern Denmark in collaboration with The Research Unit of General Practice Odense at The University of Southern Denmark.