The effects of excessive alcohol consumption across Scottish society have been seen to impact on communities, families, public services, the economy and individual health. In response, the Scottish Government set out a strategic approach to addressing these harms in the Changing Scotland’s Relationship with Alcohol: A Framework for Action (Scottish Government, 2009). A key component of this strategy was to set targets for the delivery of Alcohol Brief Interventions (ABIs), which were subsequently developed into a HEAT H4: Alcohol Brief Intervention (ABI) Standard in 2012/13.

Our findings point to the fundamentally central role GPs play in responding to harmful and hazardous drinking through the delivery of ABIs in primary care. The study identified that facilitators for the effective delivery of ABIs fell into two categories, systemic factors and patient-centred factors. The systemic factors mirror those identified in the final MESAS report. However, the patient-centred factors from our data address elements of the gaps identified by the MESAS report (NHS Health Scotland, 2016). Our data provides new evidence and insight to address specific gaps in our understanding of the characteristics of the individuals receiving screening and ABIs, who these individuals are and how that and the context of their lives impacts on the delivery of ABIs.