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Clinical and Process Outcomes, Cost and Cost Effectiveness of Implementation
of the Let’s Stop Drinking Guideline for Persons with Alcohol Use Disorders
(People Version): Case Studies in 4 Regions

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H. Sethabouppha, N. Khunbutsri, and S. Nitayawan 1
1 Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University, Thailand

Background: Alcohol addicts and people with severe alcohol use disorders (PSUD) after discharge
from the hospital have a high recurrence rate, severely impacting individuals, families, society, and
health systems. The Let’s Stop Drinking Guidelines are innovation-driven community initiatives that
provide continuous care for health coaches who are local residents.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the clinical and process outcomes, costs, and cost-effectiveness
of the Let’s Stop Drinking Guidelines in four regions of Thailand.

Methods: A clustered randomized control trial is a methodology. The sample consisted of 236 PSUD
patients, 236 caregivers or relatives of PSUD patients, randomly assigned to a control group, an
Oral Presentation Abstracts
experimental group, and 120 health coaches operating in the area.

Results: The results consisted of the clinical results and the cost and cost-effectiveness of the
implementation results. Clinical results: At the 6-month follow-up, the experimental group showed
a significant decrease in drinking behavior compared with the control group. The proportion of
individuals who did not drink increased from 0% to 28.45% and the number of heavy drinking days
decreased from 28.16 to 7.37. The experimental group also had a higher quality of life and fewer
alcohol-related problems. Cost and cost-effectiveness of the implementation results: The total cost
of the intervention was 2,706 baht per participant, with a cost-effectiveness ratio of 8,571 baht per unit
reduction in drinking.

Conclusion: This research demonstrates the effectiveness of the Let’s Stop Drinking guideline in both
clinical and process outcomes and reports value-added and cost-effectiveness in implementing the
guidelines. Therefore, this innovation should be used for PSUD in the community and after long-term
hospital discharge. Significantly, policy recommendations should be made for further action on
implementing the let us Stop Drinking guidelines under the drive of the national health service system.

Keywords: alcohol addiction, health coaches, relapse prevention, cost-effectiveness, clinical
outcomes

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Correspondence: Nitchakool Khunbutsri, Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University, Thailand
E-mail: nitchakool_k@cmu.ac.th

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