Alcohol and drug abuse are serious public health problems worldwide. Workplace alcohol and drug testing is a common intervention, especially in developed nations, but it is costly and its use is controversial. This systematic review aimed to assess the effects of alcohol and drug screening among occupational drivers for preventing injury.
We conducted a systematic search of the literature on the effects of alcohol and drug screening among occupational drivers for preventing injury. We then appraised the quality of the studies found and assessed their results. We found two time-series studies conducted in the USA. One was conducted in five large transportation companies, and it examined the effects of two interventions of interest: implementation of legislation for mandatory random drug testing and mandatory random and for-cause alcohol testing. The other study was conducted using national injury data.
There is limited evidence that in the long term mandatory drug-testing interventions can be more effective than no intervention in reducing injuries in occupational drivers. For mandatory alcohol testing there was evidence of an immediate effect only.
Given the widespread practice of alcohol and drug testing and the paucity of evaluation studies found, more evaluation studies are needed. Interrupted time-series is a feasible study design for evaluating interventions that aim at preventing alcohol and drug related injuries. However, time-series studies of higher quality and of long duration are needed to increase the level of evidence. A cluster-randomised trial would be the ideal study design to evaluate the effects of interventions for injury prevention in this occupational setting.