Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28295758›Full record

SynthesisAddiction (Abingdon, England)2017

Internet interventions for adult illicit substance users: a meta-analysis.

Nikolaos Boumparis, Eirini Karyotaki, Michael P Schaub, Pim Cuijpers, Heleen Riper

Open access · hybridAbstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
51citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
6.7field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
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

51 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 113 citations in OpenAlex.

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  7. eHealth Interventions to Treat Substance Use in Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
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  9. More behavioral recommendations produce more change: A meta-analysis of efficacy of multibehavior recommendations to reduce nonmedical substance use.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2020
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Nikolaos BoumparisDepartment of Clinical, Neuro, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Eirini KaryotakiDepartment of Clinical, Neuro, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Michael P SchaubSwiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction, associated to the University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Pim CuijpersDepartment of Clinical, Neuro, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Heleen RiperDepartment of Clinical, Neuro, and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam · NLAddiction Switzerland · CHEMGO Institute for Health and Care Research · NLGGZ inGeest · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimsResearch has shown that internet interventions can be effective for dependent users of various substances. However, less is known about the effects of these interventions on users of opioids, cocaine and amphetamines than for other substances. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of internet interventions in decreasing the usage of these types of substances.

methodsWe conducted a systematic literature search in the databases of PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase and the Cochrane Library to identify randomized controlled trials examining the effectiveness of internet interventions compared with control conditions in reducing the use of opioids, cocaine and amphetamines. No setting restrictions were applied. The risk of bias of the included studies was examined according to the Cochrane Risk of Bias assessment tool. The primary outcome was substance use reduction assessed through toxicology screening, self-report or both at post-treatment and at the follow-up assessment.

resultsSeventeen studies with 2836 adult illicit substance users were included. The risk of bias varied across the included studies. Internet interventions decreased significantly opioid [four studies, n = 606, g = 0.36; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.20-0.53, P < 0.001] and any illicit substance use (nine studies, n = 1749, g = 0.35; 95% CI = 0.24-0.45, P < 0.001) at post-treatment. Conversely, the effect of internet intervention for stimulant users was small and non-significant (four studies, n = 481, P = 0.164). Overall, internet interventions decreased substance significantly use at post-treatment (17 studies, n = 2836, g = 0.31; 95% CI = 0.23-0.39, P < 0.001) and at the follow-up assessments (nine studies, n = 1906, g = 0.22; 95% CI = 0.07-0.37; P = 0.003).

conclusionsInternet interventions demonstrate small but significant effects in decreasing substance use among various target populations at post-treatment and at the follow-up assessment. However, given the small number of available studies for certain substances, the findings should be interpreted with caution.

Indexed as

InternetDrug UsersHumansIllicit DrugsRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSubstance-Related DisordersTherapy, Computer-AssistedIllicit DrugsInternet interventionsmeta-analysisopioidstimulantsubstance useweb-based

Identifiers

PMID28295758
PMCPMC5573910
OpenAlexW2592933459

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.