The BIQ questionnaire, previously used by Struzzo in Italy, was
administered to 158 GPs in the area of Florence who attended a one-day
alcohol training course, prior to the start of the training. Six such courses
were carried out during the period 2010-2012. 45.7% of participants
recognized as a limit for at risk drinking for males of 30-40 g of alcohol per
day, and 20.4% identified 20-30 g of alcohol per day for females (70.6% of
whom set this limit at 10-20 g per day, suggesting a more restrictive
approach to female patients regardless the gender of the physician). 47.7%
said they have no problem addressing the issue of alcohol with their
patients, while 52.7% said they had little or no effect on changing their
patients’ drinking behaviour. A need for training in early identification and
brief intervention was felt by most GPs (over 90%), with a minority (14%)
indicating that an economic incentive is necessary to implement brief
intervention. As to GP lifestyles, 81% of physicians reported drinking at
least one alcoholic beverage during the last year, and 25% smoked (above
the mean for Tuscany and Italy).