Development and Testing of a Smartphone Application to Reduce Substance Use and Sexual Risk Among Homeless Young Adults

NCT ID: NCT02530645

Last Updated: 2016-10-12

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 60 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2015-11-30
• Study Completion Date: 2016-08-31

Brief Summary

A pilot trial (N=60) will be conducted to test the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of OnTrack (a smartphone application to self-monitor substance use and sexual behaviors among homeless young adults) plus a brief motivational intervention (BMI), in comparison to treatment as usual (TAU) at Covenant House New York (CHNY) for those with substance abuse problems and who engage in risky sex. Following referral, screening, and eligibility determination, 60 participants will complete informed consent and be randomly assigned to one of two conditions: 1) TAU or 2) OnTrack + BMI. All participants will be assessed at baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 6 weeks after baseline to evaluate alcohol consumption, marijuana use, HIV sexual risk behaviors, and other relevant variables.

Detailed Description

Homeless young adults have high rates of substance abuse and HIV infection and, therefore, developing effective, acceptable, and sustainable interventions to reduce their substance abuse and sexual risk behaviors is of high public health significance.

HealthCall for Smartphone (HealthCall-S) is a smartphone application originally designed for self-monitoring of alcohol use and other HIV-related health behaviors, and receiving personalized feedback on these behaviors among urban substance-abusing HIV primary care patients. Building upon prior HealthCall-S studies, individual qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 homeless young adults (age 18-21 years) at Covenant House New York (CHNY), the largest provider of crisis shelter and services for homeless young adults (age 18-21 years) in NYC. The purpose of the individual interviews was to obtain reactions to various aspects of HealthCall-S and determine how it could be adapted to better suit the needs and interests of homeless young adults. HealthCall-S has since been adapted to target alcohol use, marijuana use, and sexual risk behaviors among homeless young adults and renamed 'OnTrack.' A pilot trial (N=60) will be conducted to test the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of OnTrack plus a brief motivational intervention (BMI), in comparison to treatment as usual (TAU) at CHNY for those with substance abuse problems and who engage in risky sex. Following referral, screening, and eligibility determination, 60 participants will complete informed consent and be randomly assigned to one of two conditions: 1) TAU or 2) OnTrack + BMI. All participants will be assessed at baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 6 weeks after baseline to evaluate alcohol consumption, marijuana use, HIV sexual risk behaviors, and other relevant variables.

Conditions

Alcohol Use; Marijuana Use; Sexual Behavior

Study Design

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

Study Groups

OnTrack + BMI

Brief motivational interview plus the use of a smartphone application to monitor alcohol and marijuana use and sexual risk behaviors.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

OnTrack

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Brief Motivational Interviewing

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Treatment as Usual

Treatment as usual involves substance use/HIV referral and treatment as regularly offered to all participants who report substance use and sexual risk behaviors at Covenant House New York.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Treatment as Usual

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Interventions

OnTrack

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Treatment as Usual

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Brief Motivational Interviewing

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• 18-21 years of age
• Engaged in unprotected vaginal, anal, or oral sex in the past year
• Drank alcohol in the past year
• Used marijuana on 4 or more days in past month

Exclusion Criteria

• Actively psychotic, suicidal, or homicidal
• Does not speak English
• Has a vision/hearing impairment that would preclude participation
• Has definite plans to leave the greater New York metropolitan area within the study period

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 21 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

New York State Psychiatric Institute

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Ronald G Thompson, Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Columbia University

Locations

Covenant House New York

New York, New York, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

#7018

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id