Smartphone-paired Breathalyzers and Loss- and Gain-framed Texts for Reducing Drinking and Driving

NCT ID: NCT03335735

Last Updated: 2018-08-08

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

58 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2017-12-21

Study Completion Date

2018-06-30

Brief Summary

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This project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of a scalable behavioral intervention using smartphone-paired breathalyzers and text message aimed at reducing drinking and driving among individuals who report heavy drinking. All participants receive a smartphone breathalyzer to provide feedback on their estimated blood alcohol level. The intervention compares loss- and gain-framed messages that make the consequences of drinking and driving more salient to standard messages not to drink and drive.

Detailed Description

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The overall objective of this project is to leverage smartphone-paired breathalyzers to implement cost-effective and scalable behavioral interventions to reduce risky drinking behaviors such as drinking and driving. Prospect theory proposes that messages framed in different ways can elicit different responses from individuals. Loss aversion refers to people's tendency to prefer avoiding losses to acquiring equivalent gains: it's better to not lose $5 than to find $5. People are more motivated to avoid losing something than they are to win something. Studies have found that delivering messaging framed as a loss are also effective in motivating certain behaviors. On the other hand, gain-framed messages have been shown to have a positive effect on preventative healthcare. By using automated remote monitoring, innovative loss aversion and gain-framed messaging strategies incorporating insights from behavioral economics could be more easily implemented by delivering effective messaging prior to a risky behavior taking place. The investigators hope that the use of loss aversive and/or gain-framed messaging will lead to individuals improving planning behavior around drinking, especially in regards to drinking and driving. The objective of this project is to demonstrate the feasibility of a scalable intervention using loss- gain-framed messaging to reduce drinking and driving, compare the effectiveness of each type of messaging, and to increase the use of Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) monitors as a way to plan safer strategies when drinking. The investigators' long-term objective is to secure federal funding for research that leverages insights from behavioral economics supported by smartphone technology to reduce risky drinking.

Conditions

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Alcohol Drinking Alcohol Intoxication Alcohol Impairment Drive Driving Impaired Driving Under the Influence Behavior, Drinking

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants
Participant will be blinded to their random assignment into the control, loss-framed messaging, or gain-framed messaging group.

Study Groups

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Loss-Framed Text Messages

Loss-framed text message

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Loss-framed text message

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants in the intervention group will receive loss-framed text messages related to drinking and driving on days during the week with a higher likelihood of alcohol consumption (Thursday-Saturday). Loss aversion refers to people's tendency to prefer avoiding losses to acquiring equivalent gains: it's better to not lose $5 than to find $5, so the content of the messages will be related to loss of personal freedom, loss of money, and loss of future employment opportunities due to Driving Under the Influence (DUI) convictions.

Control

Participants in this arm will not receive any intervention.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Gain-Framed Messaging Group

Gain-framed text message

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Gain-Framed text message

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants in the intervention group will receive gain-framed text messages related to drinking and driving on days during the week with a higher likelihood of alcohol consumption (Thursday-Saturday). Gain-framed messages have been shown to have a positive effect on preventative healthcare and include content framed in a manner that the participant gains something from taking preventative action. Message content will be related to saving lives, gaining control, and making loved ones happy.

Interventions

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Loss-framed text message

Participants in the intervention group will receive loss-framed text messages related to drinking and driving on days during the week with a higher likelihood of alcohol consumption (Thursday-Saturday). Loss aversion refers to people's tendency to prefer avoiding losses to acquiring equivalent gains: it's better to not lose $5 than to find $5, so the content of the messages will be related to loss of personal freedom, loss of money, and loss of future employment opportunities due to Driving Under the Influence (DUI) convictions.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Gain-Framed text message

Participants in the intervention group will receive gain-framed text messages related to drinking and driving on days during the week with a higher likelihood of alcohol consumption (Thursday-Saturday). Gain-framed messages have been shown to have a positive effect on preventative healthcare and include content framed in a manner that the participant gains something from taking preventative action. Message content will be related to saving lives, gaining control, and making loved ones happy.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Between the ages of 21-39
* Reports an average of one heavy drinking day (men more than five drinks, women more than four drinks) per week over the preceding 8 weeks
* Has a valid photo identification (ID)
* Are willing and able to use an Uber or Lyft or septa as transportation home
* Drives four or more trips per week
* Owns an Apple iPhone or Android smartphone

Exclusion Criteria

* Desire for alcohol treatment now or have received alcohol treatment within the past 6 months
* Alcohol use disorder rated as severe per DSM-V criteria
* Non-English-speaking
* Women who are pregnant
* Individuals who should not consume alcohol due to a medical condition such as liver disease, cancer, and seizure disorders. Participants will be asked to answer yes if they have any disorder that their doctor has suggested that they should not drink alcohol. If they are unsure or say I don't know the investigators will ask them to speak with their doctor prior to participation.
Minimum Eligible Age

21 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

39 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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University of Pennsylvania

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Kit Delgado, MD, MS

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Pennsylvania

Locations

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University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24881329 (View on PubMed)

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Provided Documents

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Document Type: Study Protocol

View Document

Document Type: Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Related Links

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http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812139.pdf

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic Safety Facts: Alcohol-Impaired Driving.; 2015

http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/brfssprevalence

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. BRFSS Prevalence \& Trends Data.; 2015

Other Identifiers

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827345

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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