Teen Drinking
Conditions
Keywords
Gamification, Information Hub, Randomized Controlled Trial, Teen Drinking, Binge Drinking
Brief summary
Online education hubs and Chat-based text messaging for reducing alcohol consumption and binge drinking in adolescents: A pilot randomized controlled trial
Detailed description
It is urged to alleviate the problem before it become worse. Department of Health in Hong Kong developed 3 information hubs (Alcohol Fails, Young and Alcohol Free and Understanding Alcohol Harm) to distribute alcohol-related messages, such as binge drinking. Yet, it lacks interactive and individualized elements, which makes it difficult to attract secondary school students to search for information. Our previous research also reveals that more than 80% of the respondents are willing to receive message reminders for controlling or avoiding binge drinking. They also suggest that those messages should include drinking limits, health risks, psychological support, and alternative activities. It proves that an interactive and personalized intervention package should be included in secondary school in terms of binge drinking prevention. This could be a research gap to investigate in this project. We expect that this study result would demonstrate the main effects of the interventions, including mHealth text messaging, and online platform hub. By analyzing those intervention results, we could deeply understand the effective methods to lower the risk of young adult binge drinking phenomenon. We could provide more precise interventions to secondary school students. This study will also prepare for future RCTs to explore the possibility on the integration of other intervention components or factors for binge drinking prevention research. In the long run, the proportion of binge drinking in population and young-aged will be lowered. Department of Health or other future research could implement this intervention as a fundamental to enhance the effectiveness of the alcohol control intervention. A pilot 2-arm, parallel, open-labelled randomized controlled trial randomly allocated participants (1:1 ratio) to intervention and control groups. The intervention group has 2 intervention components: (1) Online information hub (compulsory: game), (2) mHealth text messaging at last to people who needed (Audit score \>7). The control group will receive self-help materials during the same period. The sample size is 100 participants (50 for each group). 100 ever-drinkers will be recruited from the secondary schools through online and offline. Study information will be disseminated via online advertisements, mass emails, and in-person interactions at schools in various districts, including New Territories, Kowloon, and Hong Kong Island. Interested participants can enroll by completing an online application form using Qualtrics or Google form). During offline recruitment sessions, staff will approach secondary school students and their parents (if the participants are under 18 years old) to obtain consent and have them complete a baseline questionnaire for further contact and intervention delivery.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALOnline platform hub and mHealth Text Messaging
The treatment package includes both optional and mandatory treatments. The mandatory treatments consist of mHealth text messaging and an online platform hub. We have developed a game which educates teenagers about alcohol reduction and promotes awareness of alcohol-related harm. Designed to be both engaging and informative, the game uses real-life scenarios, interactive storytelling, and decision-based gameplay to help young people understand the risks of excessive drinking. Also, participants with Audit Score \> 7 will receive individualized chat-based instant text messages from WhatsApp for 8 weeks. They will have real-time and one-to-one interaction. The conversation intensity depends on the participants' need.
BEHAVIORALSelf-help material
Self-help material like leaflet is a common method used in preventing teenage Drinking.
Sponsors
The University of Hong Kong
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Masking description
open-labelled RCT
Intervention model description
2-arm: Intervention group and Control group
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
12 Years to 18 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
1. being a Hong Kong resident aged between 12-18 years; 2. having consumed alcohol in the past 12-month; 3. Using WhatsApp in their cell phone.
Exclusion criteria
1. cannot communicate in Cantonese or read Chinese; 2. currently using other alcohol control programs.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of drinking days | 3-month follow-up | The primary outcome is the number of drinking days in the past 30 days at 3-month follow-up. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of ever binge drinking days | 3-month follow-up | Number of ever binge drinking days in the past 3 months at 3-month follow-up since trial participation |
| Number of binge drinking days | 3-month follow-up | Number of binge drinking days in the past 30 days at 3-month |
| Intention to reduce or quit alcohol drinking | 3-month follow-up | Intention to reduce or quit alcohol drinking in 10 points Likert scale at 3-month follow-up. \[0: no intention \| 10: Highest Intention\] |
| Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test | 3-month follow-up | Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) score is a validated scale in measuring the impact of alcohol consumption on individual's health. |
Countries
Hong Kong
Contacts
Primary ContactDerek Yee Tak CHEUNG
Outcome results
None listed