Family-Centered Motivational Interviewing for People with Alcohol Use Disorders and Their Family Members in Brazil: Protocol for a Single-Arm, Mixed-Methods Pilot Feasibility Study
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Study Protocol
Abstract: Alcohol use disorders are a major public health problem in Brazil, and families carry much of their burden. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based counseling approach for substance use, but it has been delivered and studied almost exclusively in individual sessions. A family-centered adaptation of MI (FCMI), in which the person with an alcohol use disorder and a family member take part in joint sessions, has been developed in the United States (Smith, 2025) and has not been tested in Brazil. This single-arm, mixed-methods pilot feasibility study will assess whether FCMI can be delivered and accepted in a Psychosocial Care Center for Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAPS AD) of the Brazilian Unified Health System, in the municipality of Indaiatuba, São Paulo. Fifteen dyads (15 adult service users with alcohol use disorder and one family member nominated by each of them; 30 participants) will receive two FCMI sessions of approximately two hours each, with assessments at baseline, at the end of the second session and 30 days later. Feasibility outcomes (recruitment, retention, session attendance, completeness of measures, treatment fidelity assessed with the Motivational Interviewing Skill Code, and acceptability) have predefined progression criteria. Preliminary outcomes are change talk in sessions (DARN-CAT categories), alcohol and other substance use (AUDIT, GAIN Substance Frequency Scale), readiness to change and to support change, family functioning (FACES-IV) and the Client Evaluation of Motivational Interviewing scale. Semi-structured interviews will explore acceptability and consistency with family and cultural values. Analyses are descriptive, with effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals; hypotheses about change talk and alcohol use are preliminary or exploratory, not confirmatory. The study will provide the parameters needed to design a randomized controlled trial of FCMI in Brazil. Approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (CAAE 81257324.0.0000.5404)
Source: OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7208801596