Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27392430›Full record

Trial reportBMC public health2016

Evaluating the effectiveness of a smartphone app to reduce excessive alcohol consumption: protocol for a factorial randomised control trial.

Claire Garnett, David Crane, Susan Michie, Robert West, Jamie Brown

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC public health, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
25citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

25 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Claire GarnettDepartment of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, 1 -19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK. c.garnett.12@ucl.ac.uk.
David CraneDepartment of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, 1 -19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK.
Susan MichieDepartment of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, 1 -19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK.
Robert WestCancer Research UK Health Behaviour Research Centre, University College London, London, UK.
Jamie BrownDepartment of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, 1 -19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK.

Funding

Cancer Research UK 14135Cancer Research UK C1417/A14135
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundExcessive alcohol consumption is a leading cause of death and morbidity worldwide and interventions to help people reduce their consumption are needed. Interventions delivered by smartphone apps have the potential to help harmful and hazardous drinkers reduce their consumption of alcohol. However, there has been little evaluation of the effectiveness of existing smartphone interventions. A systematic review, amongst other methodologies, identified promising modular content that could be delivered by an app: self-monitoring and feedback; action planning; normative feedback; cognitive bias re-training; and identity change. This protocol reports a factorial randomised controlled trial to assess the comparative potential of these five intervention modules to reduce excessive alcohol consumption.

methodsA between-subject factorial randomised controlled trial. Hazardous and harmful drinkers aged 18 or over who are making a serious attempt to reduce their drinking will be randomised to one of 32 (2(5)) experimental conditions after downloading the 'Drink Less' app. Participants complete baseline measures on downloading the app and are contacted after 1-month with a follow-up questionnaire. The primary outcome measure is change in past week consumption of alcohol. Secondary outcome measures are change in AUDIT score, app usage data and usability ratings for the app. A factorial between-subjects ANOVA will be conducted to assess main and interactive effects of the five intervention modules for the primary and secondary outcome measures. DISCUSSION: This study will establish the extent to which the five intervention modules offered in this app can help reduce hazardous and harmful drinking. This is the first step in optimising and understanding what component parts of an app could help to reduce excessive alcohol consumption. The findings from this study will be used to inform the content of a future integrated treatment app and evaluated against a minimal control in a definitive randomised control trial with long-term outcomes.

trial registrationISRCTN40104069 Date of registration: 10/2/2016.

Indexed as

Mobile ApplicationsSmartphoneAlcoholismChinaHumansResearch DesignSurveys and QuestionnairesAlcoholAppBCTDigitalDrinkExcessiveInterventionRCTSmartphone

Identifiers

PMID27392430
PMCPMC4939028

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.