EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE AMONG ABORIGINAL SERVICE PROVIDERS ON TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR EXCESSIVE ALCOHOL-USE

Approaches to the prevention of alcohol problems among Aboriginal peop le in Australia have tended to emphasize primary and tertiary preventi on, while neglecting secondary prevention or early intervention. In co ntrast, members of the wider Australian community can now access a var iety of early interventions through general practice, in hospital sett ings and through drug and alcohol treatment agencies. As part of a sur vey of the use of brief interventions, 178 agencies throughout Austral ia were interviewed, and findings are presented from the 29 agencies i n this sample which provided services primarily for Aboriginal people. Approximately half offered a variety of approaches including brief in terventions, with goals of moderation; the other half were entirely ab stinence-orientated. These findings are discussed in the context of ex panding the options that might be offered by Aboriginal-run agencies.