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An online digital health agent can be more engaging and accessible than established practices

INTRO

  • Approximately 14.1 million adults in the United States are affected by Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)[1]
  • Motivational interviewing is an established, effective treatment for AUD, but access to motivational interviewing treatment is limited[2-4]
  • Digital health interventions using motivational interviewing, such as the Drinker’s Check-up, could reduce barriers to treatment[5-6]

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METHODS

  1. Participants who met criteria (at least one binge drinking episode in the past 12 months) were sorted into control (text-based Drinker’s Check-up) and experimental (digital health agent Drinker’s Check-up). The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST), and the Drinker Inventory of Consequences (DrInC) were administered before and after the intervention. Higher scores on the three measures indicated more alcohol related behaviors and problems.
  2. We collected data from 137 alcohol users (54% White, 60.7% Male, Mean Age = 33. 37) randomly assigned to DCU delivered by a text interface or DCU delivered by a digital health agent.
  3. We assessed the data using a series of 2x2 mixed ANOVAs with repeated measures.

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DISCUSSION

  • There were not significant differences between the digital health agent and DCU over time, but the digital health agent was as effective as the control.
  • The digital health agent can be more engaging and adaptable to other interventions than the text interface.
  • The digital health agent has been rated as highly acceptable by users[7]
  • We look forward to testing the digital health agent’s effectiveness with other substance use problems and populations.

RESULTS

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REFERENCES

  1. SAMHSA, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Table 5.4A – Alcohol Use Disorder in Past Year among Persons Aged 12 or Older, by Age Group and Demographic Characteristics: Numbers in Thousands, 2018 and 2019. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt29394/NSDUHDetailedTabs2019/NSDUHDetTabsSect5pe2019.htm#tab5-4a
  2. Miller WR, Rollnick S. Motivational interviewing : preparing people for change. Ebooks Corporation. 2002. Epub 2nd ed.
  3. McHugh RK, Hofmann SG, Asnaani A, Sawyer AT, Otto MW. The serotonin transporter gene and risk for alcohol dependence: a meta-analytic review. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2010;108(1-2):1-6. Epub 2010/01/12. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2009.11.017. PubMed PMID: 20060655; PubMed Central PMCID: PMCPMC2835838.
  4. Valdez LA, Garcia DO, Ruiz J, Oren E, Carvajal S. Exploring Structural, Sociocultural, and Individual Barriers to Alcohol Abuse Treatment Among Hispanic Men. Am J Mens Health. 2018 Nov;12(6):1948-1957. doi: 10.1177/1557988318790882. Epub 2018 Jul 27. PMID: 30051746; PMCID: PMC6199428.
  5. Miller WR, Sovereign RG, Krege B. Motivational interviewing with problem drinkers: II. The Drinker's Check-up as a preventive intervention. Behav Cogn Psychother. 1988;16(4):251-68.
  6. Hester RK, Squires DD, Delaney HD. The Drinker's Check-up: 12-month outcomes of a controlled clinical trial of a stand-alone software program for problem drinkers. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2005 Mar;28(2):159-69. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2004.12.002. PMID: 15780546.
  7. Boustani, M. M., Polceanu, M., Lunn, S. & Lisetti, C. (in press). Development, feasibility, acceptability, and utility of an expressive speech-enables digital health agent to deliver online brief motivational interviewing for alcohol misuse. Journal of Medical Internet Research.

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Hannah Jutzy, MA; Maya Boustani, PhD; Chris Blank, MA; Christine Lisetti, PhD

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Loma Linda University

Florida International University

thecarelabllu.com hjutzy@llu.edu mboustani@llu.edu

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Preliminary Effectiveness of an Online Digital Health Agent Intervention for Alcohol Abuse

REFERENCES

  1. SAMHSA, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Table 5.4A – Alcohol Use Disorder in Past Year among Persons Aged 12 or Older, by Age Group and Demographic Characteristics: Numbers in Thousands, 2018 and 2019. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt29394/NSDUHDetailedTabs2019/NSDUHDetTabsSect5pe2019.htm#tab5-4a
  2. Miller WR, Rollnick S. Motivational interviewing : preparing people for change. Ebooks Corporation. 2002. Epub 2nd ed.
  3. McHugh RK, Hofmann SG, Asnaani A, Sawyer AT, Otto MW. The serotonin transporter gene and risk for alcohol dependence: a meta-analytic review. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2010;108(1-2):1-6. Epub 2010/01/12. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2009.11.017. PubMed PMID: 20060655; PubMed Central PMCID: PMCPMC2835838.
  4. Valdez LA, Garcia DO, Ruiz J, Oren E, Carvajal S. Exploring Structural, Sociocultural, and Individual Barriers to Alcohol Abuse Treatment Among Hispanic Men. Am J Mens Health. 2018 Nov;12(6):1948-1957. doi: 10.1177/1557988318790882. Epub 2018 Jul 27. PMID: 30051746; PMCID: PMC6199428.
  5. Miller WR, Sovereign RG, Krege B. Motivational interviewing with problem drinkers: II. The Drinker's Check-up as a preventive intervention. Behav Cogn Psychother. 1988;16(4):251-68.
  6. Hester RK, Squires DD, Delaney HD. The Drinker's Check-up: 12-month outcomes of a controlled clinical trial of a stand-alone software program for problem drinkers. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2005 Mar;28(2):159-69. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2004.12.002. PMID: 15780546.
  7. Boustani, M. M., Polceanu, M., Lunn, S. & Lisetti, C. (in press). Development, feasibility, acceptability, and utility of an expressive speech-enables digital health agent to deliver online brief motivational interviewing for alcohol misuse. Journal of Medical Internet Research.

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