1. Efficacy and outcomes of a mobile app targeting alcohol use in young people
- Author
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Leanne Hides, Catherine Quinn, Daniel Johnson, David J. Kavanagh, Oksana Zelenko, Wendell Cockshaw, Dian Tjondronegoro, Lake-Hui Quek, and Stoyan Stoyanov
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,Alcohol Drinking ,Motivational interviewing ,030508 substance abuse ,Medicine (miscellaneous) ,Poison control ,Alcohol ,Motivational Interviewing ,Toxicology ,Suicide prevention ,Occupational safety and health ,Time ,law.invention ,Young Adult ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Sex Factors ,0302 clinical medicine ,Randomized controlled trial ,law ,Injury prevention ,medicine ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Psychiatry ,Australia ,Human factors and ergonomics ,Mobile Applications ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Clinical Psychology ,Treatment Outcome ,chemistry ,Female ,0305 other medical science ,Psychology ,Alcohol-Related Disorders ,Social psychology ,Follow-Up Studies - Abstract
Mobile apps provide a highly accessible way of reducing alcohol use in young people. This paper determines the 1-month efficacy and 2, 3 and 6 month outcomes of the Ray's Night Out app, which aims to increase alcohol knowledge and reduce alcohol use in young people. User-experience design and agile development processes, informed by the Information-Motivation-Behavioral skills model and evidence-based motivational interviewing treatment approaches guided app development. A randomized controlled trial comparing immediate versus 1-month delayed access to the app was conducted in 197 young people (16 to 25 years) who drank alcohol in the previous month. Participants were assessed at baseline, 1, 2, 3 and 6 months. Alcohol knowledge, alcohol use and related harms and the severity of problematic drinking were assessed. App quality was evaluated after 1-month of app use. Participants in the immediate access group achieved a significantly greater increase in alcohol knowledge than the delayed access group at 1-month, but no differences in alcohol use or related problems were found. Both groups achieved significant reductions in the typical number of drinks on a drinking occasion over time. A reduction in maximum drinks consumed was also found at 1 month. These reductions were most likely to occur in males and problem drinkers. Reductions in alcohol-related harm were also found. The app received a high mean quality (M = 3.82/5, SD = 0.51). The Ray app provides a youth-friendly and easily-accessible way of increasing young people's alcohol knowledge but further testing is required to determine its impact on alcohol use and related problems.
- Published
- 2018
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