TY - JOUR
T1 - Web-based self-help intervention reduces alcohol consumption in both heavy-drinking and dependent alcohol users
T2 - A pilot study
AU - WHO e-health project on Alcohol and Health Investigators Group
AU - Andrade, André Luiz Monezi
AU - de Lacerda, Roseli Boerngen
AU - Gomide, Henrique Pinto
AU - Ronzani, Telmo Mota
AU - Sartes, Laisa Marcorela Andreoli
AU - Martins, Leonardo Fernandes
AU - Bedendo, André
AU - Souza-Formigoni, Maria Lucia Oliveira
N1 - Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/12/1
Y1 - 2016/12/1
N2 - As part of a multicenter project supported by the World Health Organization, we developed a web-based intervention to reduce alcohol use and related problems. We evaluated the predictors of adherence to, and the outcomes of the intervention. Success was defined as a reduction in consumption to low risk levels or to <50% of the baseline levels of number of drinks. From the 32,401 people who accessed the site, 3389 registered and 929 completed the full Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), a necessary condition to be considered eligible to take part in the intervention. Based on their AUDIT scores, these participants were classified into: low risk users (LRU; n=319) harmful/hazardous users (HHU; n=298) or suggestive of dependence users (SDU; n=312). 29.1% of the registered users (LRU=42; HHU=90; SDU=82) completed the evaluation form at the end of the six-week period, and 63.5% reported low-risk drinking levels. We observed a significant reduction in alcohol consumption in the HHU (62.5%) and SDU (64.5%) groups in relation to baseline. One month after the intervention, in the follow-up, 94 users filled out the evaluation form, and their rate of success was similar to the one observed in the previous evaluation. Logistic regression analyses indicated that HHU participants presented higher adherence than LRU. Despite a relatively low adherence to the program, its good outcomes and low cost, as well as the high number of people that can be reached by a web-based intervention, suggest it has good cost-effectiveness.
AB - As part of a multicenter project supported by the World Health Organization, we developed a web-based intervention to reduce alcohol use and related problems. We evaluated the predictors of adherence to, and the outcomes of the intervention. Success was defined as a reduction in consumption to low risk levels or to <50% of the baseline levels of number of drinks. From the 32,401 people who accessed the site, 3389 registered and 929 completed the full Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), a necessary condition to be considered eligible to take part in the intervention. Based on their AUDIT scores, these participants were classified into: low risk users (LRU; n=319) harmful/hazardous users (HHU; n=298) or suggestive of dependence users (SDU; n=312). 29.1% of the registered users (LRU=42; HHU=90; SDU=82) completed the evaluation form at the end of the six-week period, and 63.5% reported low-risk drinking levels. We observed a significant reduction in alcohol consumption in the HHU (62.5%) and SDU (64.5%) groups in relation to baseline. One month after the intervention, in the follow-up, 94 users filled out the evaluation form, and their rate of success was similar to the one observed in the previous evaluation. Logistic regression analyses indicated that HHU participants presented higher adherence than LRU. Despite a relatively low adherence to the program, its good outcomes and low cost, as well as the high number of people that can be reached by a web-based intervention, suggest it has good cost-effectiveness.
KW - Adult
KW - Alcohol Drinking/therapy
KW - Alcoholism/therapy
KW - Brazil
KW - Female
KW - Health Behavior
KW - Humans
KW - Internet
KW - Male
KW - Patient Compliance/psychology
KW - Pilot Projects
KW - Self Care/methods
KW - Treatment Outcome
U2 - 10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.06.027
DO - 10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.06.027
M3 - Article
C2 - 27424165
SN - 0306-4603
VL - 63
SP - 63
EP - 71
JO - Addictive Behaviors
JF - Addictive Behaviors
ER -