The development and expansion of mobile technology – including text messaging and smartphone “apps” – has provided new ways to potentially help individuals with alcohol use disorder and other harmful drinking.
The development and expansion of mobile technology – including text messaging and smartphone “apps” – has provided new ways to potentially help individuals with alcohol use disorder and other harmful drinking.
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In the U.S., texting is the most popular form of communication for individuals under 50 & 80% of individuals in treatment for alcohol and other drug use disorder use text messages. Nearly 70% of U.S. adults own a smartphone, a figure growing with each year.
The ubiquity of mobile technology in day-to-day experience offers several advantages when it comes to addressing alcohol use disorder & harmful drinking:
This study by Fowler and colleagues reviewed existing research on text message and smartphone app-based interventions for alcohol use disorder and other forms of hazardous drinking.
This systematic review of mobile technology interventions included articles from 2004 to 2015 that met these conditions:
Although studies where individuals were recruited from settings where they received face-to-face health care could be included, studies were excluded if the intervention itself included a face-to-face component.
Eight studies met the criteria for inclusion in the review. Of these eight studies, five found positive results in terms of better drinking outcomes for individuals who received the mobile technology intervention. It is worth nothing that for the three that did not have positive results, one study found somewhat better outcomes (that were not significant), one found increased motivation to quit or reduce drinking though no difference in terms of actual drinking, and one no positive effects whatsoever.
Links to studies: (Agyapong, 2012; Gonzalez, 2015; Gustafson, 2014; Mason, 2014; Suffoletto, 2012; Suffoletto, 2015; Weitzel, 2007; Witkiewitz, 2014)
The Addiction-Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (A-CHESS) is a sophisticated “app” with several features:
The study provides an up-to-date review of the latest studies on mobile technology based interventions.
Given the growing body of data showing mobile technology interventions can be helpful for some, adding to the broader field of web-based interventions to help reduce drinking, next steps may be to investigate optimal strategies to roll out and engage individuals with these interventions.
One major barrier seems to be whether or not insurance companies will help reimburse for the time needed to introduce and engage individuals with these mobile technology interventions.
Fowler, L. A., Holt, S. L., & Joshi, D. (2016). Mobile technology-based interventions for adult users of alcohol: A systematic review of the literature. Addictive Behaviors.
l
In the U.S., texting is the most popular form of communication for individuals under 50 & 80% of individuals in treatment for alcohol and other drug use disorder use text messages. Nearly 70% of U.S. adults own a smartphone, a figure growing with each year.
The ubiquity of mobile technology in day-to-day experience offers several advantages when it comes to addressing alcohol use disorder & harmful drinking:
This study by Fowler and colleagues reviewed existing research on text message and smartphone app-based interventions for alcohol use disorder and other forms of hazardous drinking.
This systematic review of mobile technology interventions included articles from 2004 to 2015 that met these conditions:
Although studies where individuals were recruited from settings where they received face-to-face health care could be included, studies were excluded if the intervention itself included a face-to-face component.
Eight studies met the criteria for inclusion in the review. Of these eight studies, five found positive results in terms of better drinking outcomes for individuals who received the mobile technology intervention. It is worth nothing that for the three that did not have positive results, one study found somewhat better outcomes (that were not significant), one found increased motivation to quit or reduce drinking though no difference in terms of actual drinking, and one no positive effects whatsoever.
Links to studies: (Agyapong, 2012; Gonzalez, 2015; Gustafson, 2014; Mason, 2014; Suffoletto, 2012; Suffoletto, 2015; Weitzel, 2007; Witkiewitz, 2014)
The Addiction-Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (A-CHESS) is a sophisticated “app” with several features:
The study provides an up-to-date review of the latest studies on mobile technology based interventions.
Given the growing body of data showing mobile technology interventions can be helpful for some, adding to the broader field of web-based interventions to help reduce drinking, next steps may be to investigate optimal strategies to roll out and engage individuals with these interventions.
One major barrier seems to be whether or not insurance companies will help reimburse for the time needed to introduce and engage individuals with these mobile technology interventions.
Fowler, L. A., Holt, S. L., & Joshi, D. (2016). Mobile technology-based interventions for adult users of alcohol: A systematic review of the literature. Addictive Behaviors.
l
In the U.S., texting is the most popular form of communication for individuals under 50 & 80% of individuals in treatment for alcohol and other drug use disorder use text messages. Nearly 70% of U.S. adults own a smartphone, a figure growing with each year.
The ubiquity of mobile technology in day-to-day experience offers several advantages when it comes to addressing alcohol use disorder & harmful drinking:
This study by Fowler and colleagues reviewed existing research on text message and smartphone app-based interventions for alcohol use disorder and other forms of hazardous drinking.
This systematic review of mobile technology interventions included articles from 2004 to 2015 that met these conditions:
Although studies where individuals were recruited from settings where they received face-to-face health care could be included, studies were excluded if the intervention itself included a face-to-face component.
Eight studies met the criteria for inclusion in the review. Of these eight studies, five found positive results in terms of better drinking outcomes for individuals who received the mobile technology intervention. It is worth nothing that for the three that did not have positive results, one study found somewhat better outcomes (that were not significant), one found increased motivation to quit or reduce drinking though no difference in terms of actual drinking, and one no positive effects whatsoever.
Links to studies: (Agyapong, 2012; Gonzalez, 2015; Gustafson, 2014; Mason, 2014; Suffoletto, 2012; Suffoletto, 2015; Weitzel, 2007; Witkiewitz, 2014)
The Addiction-Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (A-CHESS) is a sophisticated “app” with several features:
The study provides an up-to-date review of the latest studies on mobile technology based interventions.
Given the growing body of data showing mobile technology interventions can be helpful for some, adding to the broader field of web-based interventions to help reduce drinking, next steps may be to investigate optimal strategies to roll out and engage individuals with these interventions.
One major barrier seems to be whether or not insurance companies will help reimburse for the time needed to introduce and engage individuals with these mobile technology interventions.
Fowler, L. A., Holt, S. L., & Joshi, D. (2016). Mobile technology-based interventions for adult users of alcohol: A systematic review of the literature. Addictive Behaviors.