Brief Alcohol Interventions With Mobile Phone Applications for University Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

NCT ID: NCT01958398

Last Updated: 2019-04-30

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 4408 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2013-02-28
• Study Completion Date: 2013-05-31

Brief Summary

Objectives: This study evaluates the efficacy of two mobile phone applications, Promillekoll and PartyPlanner among university government members at two universities in Stockholm, Sweden. The design is a three-armed randomized controlled design, and outcomes are measured in terms of changes in problematic alcohol use at follow up 7 weeks after study initiation and baseline data gathering. Both the Promillekoll and PartyPlanner apps feature real time registration of alcohol consumption and giving feedback of estimated blood alcohol concentration levels. Both apps inform and warn the user when the estimated alcohol level is above 0.6%, a level set that is below risky consumption levels. PartyPlanner additionally provides the possibility of simulating and planning an alcohol consumption event in advance and later on comparing it with the real time registration at the event.

Method: Participants with problematic alcohol use (AUDIT >7 for men and >5 for women) are randomized into one of three groups: 1. Access to Promillekoll, 2. Access to PartyPlanner and 3. Control group. Outcomes on alcohol use as well as information on the users' satisfaction with the app assigned to them gathered after 7 weeks.

The hypotheses are: 1. The groups receiving the Promillekoll and PartyPlanner interventions will reduce their alcohol use to a larger extent than the control group at follow-up compared to the baseline level. 2. The addition of the possibility to plan events beforehand (PartyPlanner) will lead to an increased decrease in alcohol consumption to only real-time use (Promillekoll).

Detailed Description

Background Brief interventions via the internet have been shown to reduce university students' alcohol intake. This study tested two smartphone applications (apps) targeting drinking choices on party occasions, with the goal of reducing problematic alcohol intake among Swedish university students.

Methods Students were recruited via e-mails sent to student union members at two universities. Those who gave informed consent, had a smartphone, and showed risky alcohol consumption according to the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) were randomized into three groups. Group 1 had access to the Swedish government alcohol monopoly's app, Promillekoll, offering real-time estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC) calculation; Group 2 had access to a web-based app, PartyPlanner, developed by the research group, offering real-time eBAC calculation with planning and follow-up functions; and Group 3 participants were controls. Follow-up was conducted at 7 weeks.

Conditions

Problematic Alcohol Use

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Promillekoll

Smartphone app monitoring alcohol use with feedback.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Promillekoll

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Smartphone app monitoring alcohol use with feedback.

PartyPlanner

Smartphone-adapted web based app for simulating an event with alcohol consumption in advance, real time monitoring alcohol use with feedback during the event and the possibility to compare these two.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

PartyPlanner

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Smartphone-adapted web based app for simulating an event with alcohol consumption in advance, real time monitoring alcohol use with feedback during the event and the possibility to compare these two.

Control

Untreated control group

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Promillekoll

Smartphone app monitoring alcohol use with feedback.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

PartyPlanner

Smartphone-adapted web based app for simulating an event with alcohol consumption in advance, real time monitoring alcohol use with feedback during the event and the possibility to compare these two.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Access to a smartphone running iOS or Android OS.
• AUDIT >7 for men or AUDIT >5 for women.

Exclusion Criteria

• AUDIT <8 (men) or <6 (women)
• No access to a smartphone running iOS or Android OS.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 15 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Karolinska Institutet

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Anne H Berman

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Anne H Berman, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Karolinska Institutet

Locations

Karolinska institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience

Stockholm, , Sweden

Countries

Sweden

References

Gajecki M, Berman AH, Sinadinovic K, Rosendahl I, Andersson C. Mobile phone brief intervention applications for risky alcohol use among university students: a randomized controlled study. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2014 Jul 2;9(1):11. doi: 10.1186/1940-0640-9-11.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 24985342 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

2012/1126-31/1

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id