Using Telephone Technology to Prevent Relapse After Alcoholism Treatment

NCT ID: NCT00132795

Last Updated: 2012-06-21

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: PHASE2
• Total Enrollment: 158 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2005-05-31
• Study Completion Date: 2010-07-31

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a telephone based self-help program will prevent relapse among individuals undergoing standard substance abuse treatment.

Detailed Description

Relapse rates in the first few months following substance abuse treatment are as high as 50%, in spite of the immediate effectiveness of treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Continuing use of therapy skills following treatment is associated with maintenance of treatment gains. We have programmed a telephone to deliver pre-recorded summaries and rehearsal sessions of skills learned in therapy. The system also includes monthly feedback messages from therapists. We expect that this ad-lib access to therapy skills would allow patients to generalize skills to their personal post-treatment lives. It would also allow individuals in remote or rural areas to obtain access to assistance without travel barriers.

Comparison(s): patients completing group CBT for substance abuse will be randomly assigned to two conditions. In one condition, patients will have unlimited access to the therapeutic telephone system for 4 months. The other condition is standard care (i.e., no formal relapse prevention).

Conditions

Alcoholism

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

1 Therapeutic Phone System

patients assigned to this condition will have unlimited access to the therapeutic telephone system for 4 months.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Daily monitoring of alcohol & drug use, & therapy skills

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Comparison(s): patients completing group CBT for substance abuse will be randomly assigned to two conditions. In one condition, patients will have unlimited access to the therapeutic telephone system for 4 months. The other condition is standard care (i.e., no formal relapse prevention).

2 Standard care

Standard post-CBT care (i.e., no formal relapse prevention or professional treatment).

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

control group

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

standard care (no added treatment)

Interventions

Daily monitoring of alcohol & drug use, & therapy skills

Comparison(s): patients completing group CBT for substance abuse will be randomly assigned to two conditions. In one condition, patients will have unlimited access to the therapeutic telephone system for 4 months. The other condition is standard care (i.e., no formal relapse prevention).

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

control group

standard care (no added treatment)

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

relapse prevention

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Meets current DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence
• Active drinking during the three months prior to entry into treatment
• Minimum age of 19
• Minimum sixth grade reading level.

Exclusion Criteria

• Meets criteria for a current psychotic illness
• Imminent plans to move or be incarcerated
• Presence of such severe hearing, visual, or cognitive deficit(s) that participation in CBT or use of an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system are not possible
• Inability to identify at least one "locator" person to assist in tracking for follow-up assessments
• Does not have telephone service within the home
• Incarceration while in active protocol in the study
• Attendance of less than 8 of 12 CBT sessions

• Minimum Eligible Age: 19 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Vermont

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

John E. Helzer, MD

Professor of Psychiatry

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

John E. Helzer, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Vermont

Locations

UVM Health Behavior Research Center

Burlington, Vermont, United States

Countries

United States

Related Links

http://www.med.uvm.edu/hbrc/

Investigator's home page

Other Identifiers

R01AA014270

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

NIAAAHEL014270

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id