ReviewDigital health
What makes online substance-use interventions engaging? A systematic review and narrative synthesis.
Review in Digital health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Effectiveness of Strategies to Improve User Engagement With Digital Health Interventions Targeting Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Overweight and Obesity: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Digital Interventions for Social Participation in Adults with Long-term Physical Conditions: A Systematic Review.Journal of medical systems · 2023Pooled it
- eHealth Interventions to Treat Substance Use in Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Associations between Digital Health Intervention Engagement and Dietary Intake: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Associations Between Digital Health Intervention Engagement, Physical Activity, and Sedentary Behavior: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- Usage of an App-Based Addiction Prevention Program for German Vocational Students: Secondary Analysis of Data From a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- Effectiveness of a Web-Based Individual Coping and Alcohol Intervention Program for Children of Parents With Alcohol Use Problems: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Trial
- Examining engagement with and acceptability and usability of REAL Parenting: A brief online parent-based intervention to reduce alcohol use and consequences among high school students.Addictive behaviors · 2023Trial
- Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of face-to-face and electronic brief interventions versus screening alone to reduce alcohol consumption among high-risk adolescents presenting to emergency departments: three-arm pragmatic randomized trial (SIPS Junior high risk trial).Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2022Trial
- Brief Online Negative Affect Focused Functional Imagery Training Improves 2-Week Drinking Outcomes in Hazardous Student Drinkers: a Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial.International journal of behavioral medicine · 2022Trial
- Language, Social Support, and Recovery-Stage Transitions in Opioid Use Disorder on Reddit: Computational Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Factors Influencing Engagement in a Digital Substance Use Prevention Program: Qualitative Study Using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation Model and Theoretical Domains Framework.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Article
- Applying the Just-In-Time Adaptive Intervention Framework to the Development of Gambling Interventions.Journal of gambling studies · 2024Article
- Technology-based group exercise interventions for people living with dementia or mild cognitive impairment: A scoping review.PloS one · 2024Article
- U.S. veterans' experiences and factors associated with use of a smartphone application to self-manage unhealthy alcohol use.Psychological services · 2023Article
- End User Participation in the Development of an Ecological Momentary Intervention to Improve Coping With Cannabis Cravings: Formative Study.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Peer support and online cognitive behavioural therapy for substance use concerns: protocol for a randomised controlled trial.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Evaluating the Feasibility of a Digital Therapeutic Program for Patients With Cancer During Active Treatment: Pre-Post Interventional Study.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Enrollment and Retention of Participants in Remote Digital Health Studies: Scoping Review and Framework Proposal.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Article
- I Need to Know: Using the CeHRes Roadmap to Develop a Treatment Feedback Tool for Youngsters with Mental Health Problems.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOnline substance-use interventions are effective in producing reductions in harmful-use. However, low user engagement rates with online interventions reduces overall effectiveness of interventions. Identifying optimal strategies with which to engage users with online substance-use interventions may improve usage rates and subsequent effectiveness.
objectives(1) To identify the most prevalent engagement promoting strategies utilised to increase use of online substance-use interventions. (2) To determine whether the identified engagement promoting strategies increased said use of online substance-use interventions. REVIEW
methodsThe reviewed followed Cochrane methodology. Databases were searched for online substance-use interventions and engagement promoting strategies limited by study type (randomised controlled trial). Due to heterogeneity between engagement promoting strategies and engagement outcomes, meta-analytic techniques were not possible. Narrative synthesis methods were used.
resultsFifteen studies were included. Five different engagement promoting strategies were identified: (1) tailoring; (2) delivery strategies; (3) incentives; (4) reminders; (5) social support. The most frequently reported engagement promoting strategies was tailoring (47% of studies), followed by reminders and social support (40% of studies) and delivery strategies (33% of studies). The narrative synthesis demonstrated that tailoring, multimedia delivery of content and reminders are potential techniques for promoting engagement. The evidence for social support was inconclusive and negative for incentives.
conclusionsThis review was the first to examine engagement promoting strategies in solely online substance-use interventions. Three strategies were identified that may be integral in promoting engagement with online substance-use interventions. However, the small number of eligible extracted studies, inconsistent reporting of engagement outcomes and diversity of engagement features prevent firmer conclusions. More high-quality trials examining engagement are required.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.