Study Looks at App-Based Interventions to Reduce Alcohol Abuse
Each week, the Higher Education Center showcases recent developments in the field of AOD abuse and violence prevention in higher education that may include new data and resources, upcoming events and programs, funding opportunities, and learning opportunities. To see a listing of previous This Week! features, visit the This Week! archive.
October 28, 2011
Interactive and mobile technologies (i.e., smartphones such as Blackberries, iPhones, and palm-top computers) show promise as an efficacious and cost-effective means of communicating health-behavior risks, improving public health outcomes, and accelerating behavior change. The study was conducted as a “needs assessment” to examine the current available mobile smartphone applications (apps) that utilize principles of ecological momentary assessment (EMA)—daily self-monitoring or near real-time self-assessment of alcohol use behavior—to promote positive behavior change, alcohol harm reduction, psycho-education about alcohol use, or abstinence from alcohol.
Findings showed that few apps addressed alcohol use behavior change or recovery. Aside from tracking drinking consumption, a minority utilized empirically based components of alcohol treatment. Some apps claimed they could serve as an intervention; however, no empirical evidence was provided.
The study appears online and will be published in the December 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.