Hazardous Alcohol Use
Conditions
Keywords
older adults, digital intervention, prevention, text messaging
Brief summary
High-risk drinking is very prevalent among Danes aged 55+. It poses a serious risk to health and independent living, burdening health care systems and family members. Measures to reduce high-risk alcohol use in this growing group at need are urgently needed. A recent small study from the US shows that text messaging reduces high-risk alcohol intake in older adults. The investigators will conduct a pilot study with the same intervention in Denmark, with adaptations to language and culture. The pilot study will investigate among Danish older adults whether text messaging is well-accepted by participants and feasible in terms of reducing 1) high-risk drinking and 2) commonly accompanying problems with daily functioning, social relationships, and mental and physical health. The pilot-trial will include n=60 adults aged 55-80 years who will receive alcohol-related text messages (within a secure app for data protection purposes) over 12 weeks. Assessments will include a baseline assessment and a post-assessment.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALText messaging
Participants receive text messages related to their alcohol consumption.
Sponsors
Anette Søgaard Nielsen, PhD
Kjeld Andersen, PhD
Angelina Mellentin, PhD
Alexis Kuerbis
University of Southern Denmark
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Masking description
Participants are informed in the study material that they are allocated to groups that receive different text messages. They receive no further information on the intervention groups.
Intervention model description
Participants are assigned to either one out of six intervention conditions with different types of text messaging (including one assessment-only control condition).
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
55 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* consumption of \> 10 standard drinks á 12 gram ethanol per week (i.e., high-risk alcohol use defined by the Danish Health Authority) in the past four weeks * desire to reduce drinking * age 55 to 80 years * mobile phone ownership and willingness to receive and respond to text messages * fluency in Danish.
Exclusion criteria
* drinking more than 53 standard drinks per week in the last four weeks * past 12 month alcohol withdrawal symptoms or lifetime history of serious withdrawal symptoms (e.g., seizures) * score above 12 on the Short alcohol withdrawal scale; SAWS * possible drug dependence (i.e., use of illegal drugs or psychotropic medication taken without prescription more than once a month) * indication of serious psychiatric illness (lifetime diagnosis of psychosis or bipolar disorder, inpatient treatment or medication for these, recent suicidality) * current alcohol/drug abuse treatment or a desire to start alcohol/drug abuse treatment during the study * medical condition that requires abstinence from alcohol * wish to achieve abstinence (applied to secure a focus on reduction) * lack of understanding of study protocol or reading difficulty as evidenced by a score of less than 7 out of 10 on the consent form quiz.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| High-risk alcohol use (yes/no) | Assessed at 12 weeks after baseline, alcohol use through the past seven days | Drinking over 120 gram ethanol in seven days (determined by outcomes 4 & 5 ) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| WHOQOL-Bref (The World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version ) | Assessed at 12 weeks after baseline | Quality of life, functioning. Higher scores represent higher quality of life. |
| OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DRINKING SCALE (OCDS) | Through the past seven days, assessed at 12 weeks after baseline | Degree of compulsive alcohol use, with higher scores representing a higher degree |
| Frequency of alcohol use | Assessed at 12 weeks after baseline, alcohol use through the past seven days | Measured in number of days |
| Drinker Inventory of Consequences (DrInC-2R) | Through the past 14 days, assessed at 12 weeks after baseline | Consequences of drinking, a higher score represents greater consequences |
| Heavy drinking days | Assessed at 12 weeks after baseline, alcohol use through the past seven days | Count, number of days with 5 or more standard drinks |
| User evaluation (tailor-made) | Assessed at 12 weeks after baseline, through 12 weeks (the intervention period) | Subjective evaluation of user-friendliness, quality of the messages, and cultural adaptation (participants rate the intervention on a scale from 0= do not agree at all through 6= fully agree). Participants also tick off boxes for simple questions on other help received in the study period and on their impressions of the language and cultural appropriateness. |
| PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 ) | Assessed at 12 weeks after baseline, through the past 14 days | A higher score represents a greater degree of depressive symptoms |
| Amount of alcohol use | Assessed at 12 weeks after baseline, alcohol use through the past seven days | Measured in standard drinks with one drink equivalent to 12 gram pure ethanol |
Countries
Denmark
Contacts
Primary ContactSilke Behrendt, PhD
Backup ContactAnette S Nielsen, PhD
Outcome results
None listed