Harmful Drinking, Hazardous Drinking
Conditions
Keywords
alcohol, online intervention, hazardous drinking, harmful drinking, early intervention, behavior change intervention
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to test whether an online multi session alcohol intervention improves treatment effect compared to single session screening with feedback only. All participants in the trial received a single session screening procedure including individualized normative feedback (usual care). Additionally, half of the participants received a simple online booklet about the effects of alcohol. The other half received an online multi session follow up program.
Detailed description
Aims: Test whether a multi session alcohol intervention improves treatment effect (i.e., reduced consumption of alcohol) compared to single session screening with feedback. Design: Randomized controlled trial (RCT). Subjects in both conditions receives a single session screening procedure including individualized normative feedback. The control group receives an online booklet about the effects of alcohol. The treatment group receives the multi session follow up program Balance . Setting: Online study in Norway. Participants: At-risk drinkers is recruited through internet advertisements and randomly assigned to one of two conditions.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALOnline screening and feedback
An online single session screening procedure including individualized normative feedback.
BEHAVIORALOnline booklet.
An online booklet that covers general information about alcohol, its effect on the brain and the body, potential risks and harms of drinking, and an account of the threshold values of sensible drinking
BEHAVIORALOnline multi session follow-up
An online multi session follow-up program (i.e., Balance). The central concept of Balance is to support continued self-regulation throughout the behavior change process. There are four key aspects of the program, the first is focus on goal setting and tracking of alcohol consumption on a day-to-day basis. The second on relapse prevention - for example, when clients report drinking more than their target, they receive individualized content aimed at preventing a full blown relapse. The third is emotion regulation, where content and assignments from positive psychology and from cognitive behavioral therapy are used. Finally, intervention covers alcohol education (i.e. the same topics as in the booklet provided to the control group).
Sponsors
The Research Council of Norway
University of Oslo
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* hazardous or harmful drinking (i.e., a FAST-score of 3 or more)
Exclusion criteria
* underage (\<18) * not provided a valid e-mail address * not provided a valid (Norwegian) mobile phone number
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| number of standard alcohol units consumed during the previous seven days | measures six months after baseline (enrollment) | Subjects are asked to indicate (through online questionnaires) how many standard alcohol units they consumed on each of the previous seven days, on a scale from zero to ten. Then a sum-score for weekly consumption is calculated, ranging from zero to 70. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sick leave during last week | Assessed at six months post baseline | Sick leave was assessed with a yes or no response for each of the past seven days, and then accumulated, resulting in a score of zero to seven. Participants were instructed to report any sick leave regardless of reason. |
| Negative consequences of alcohol consumption | Assessed at six months post baseline | Perceived negative consequences of own alcohol consumption, during the seven previous days, was assessed by a 13 item index, resulting in a sum score with a theoretical range from zero to 13. The items comprised: headache, nausea, anxiety, worn out, depressed, breaking a plan, breaking a date, sick leave, memory problems, bad conscience, conflict, destroyed something and injuries. |
| Change in alcohol consumption | Six months post baseline | The change score for weekly consumption, from baseline to six months, is calculated based on the seven day consecutive measure (primary outcome). |
| Number of days with alcohol consumption | Six months post baseline | Based on the seven day consecutive measure (primary outcome), the number of days with alcohol consumption is calculated. |
| Number of alcohol binges | Six months post baseline | Based on the seven day consecutive measure (primary outcome), the number of days with a binge drinking episode is calculated. |
Countries
Norway
Outcome results
None listed