Abstract

  

 
Introduction: Illicit drug abuse has emerged as a health, medical and social issue in the current century. The purpose of this study is to review the brief interventions for the prevention and treatment of illicit drug abuse.
Method: The search was conducted in the SCOPUS, PUBMED, PROQUEST, SCIENCE DIRECT, ISC, MAGIRAN, and IRANDOC databases, with the key words of substance abuse, illicit drug abuse, addiction, motivational interviewing, motivational interview, and brief interventions without any time limitation.
Results: Brief interventions can reduce or discourage drug abuse by helping people understand how their behavior puts them at risk. The most effective interventions are for people who are neither heavy nor prolonged drug abusers, but present with impulsive, problematic or dangerous patterns of substance use.
Conclusion: Brief interventions presented by health service providers are evidence-based services, that are proved to be effective in motivating behavioral changes in people at risk of substance abuse and related health problems.