NCT05018624

Brief Summary

This study aims to assess the effectiveness of chat-based intervention on reducing risky alcohol consumption to inform clinical practice for providing ABI to risky drinkers attending AED in Hong Kong.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
632

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started May 2022

Typical duration for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

August 18, 2021

Completed
6 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

August 24, 2021

Completed
9 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

May 23, 2022

Completed
2.4 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

September 30, 2024

Completed
6 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

March 31, 2025

Completed
Last Updated

August 1, 2025

Status Verified

July 1, 2025

Enrollment Period

2.4 years

First QC Date

August 18, 2021

Last Update Submit

July 29, 2025

Conditions

Alcohol Misuse

Keywords

Chat-based IMAlcohol brief interventionAEDAUDIT

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

  • Amount of alcohol consumption per week (gram/week) at 12-month follow-up

    Assessed by unit in gram and compare the alcohol consumption between intervention and control group at 12-month after baseline.

    12-month after baseline

  • Compare the primary outcome using intention-to-treat (ITT), per-protocol (PP) and as-treated (AP) analysis with Compliance Average Causal Effect (CACE) analysis

    To estimate large, moderate and null (same as the control) treatment effects and check whether ITT, AP and PP analysis estimates are biased compared with CACE estimates (alcohol consumption per week at 6-month follow-up)

    6-month after baseline

Secondary Outcomes (9)

  • Amount of alcohol consumption per week (gram/week) at 3- and 6-month follow-ups

    3 and 6 months after baseline

  • AUDIT scores at 3-, 6- and 12-month follow-ups

    3, 6 and 12 months after baseline

  • Number of standard drinks (10g of alcohol) per week at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups

    3, 6 and 12 months after baseline

  • Episode of binge drinking in the past 30-day at 3-, 6- and 12-month follow-ups

    3, 6, and 12 months after baseline

  • Episode of heavy drinking in the past 30-day at 3-, 6- and 12-month follow-ups

    3, 6, and 12 months after baseline

  • +4 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (2)

Intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

Alcohol brief intervention, leaflets, regular personalized messages on ABI through IM Apps, real-time chat-based support through IM Apps

Behavioral: Alcohol brief interventionBehavioral: 12-page health warning leafletBehavioral: Regular messages through Instant Messaging (IM)Behavioral: Real-time chat-based support through IM AppsBehavioral: AUDIT score interpretation sheet adapted from the Department of Health of Hong Kong

control group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Alcohol brief intervention, leaflets, regular messages on general health through SMS

Behavioral: Alcohol brief interventionBehavioral: 12-page health warning leafletBehavioral: AUDIT score interpretation sheet adapted from the Department of Health of Hong Kong

Interventions

Alcohol brief interventionBEHAVIORAL

At baseline, subjects will receive face-to-face or online alcohol brief intervention developed based on the guideline by the World Health Organisation in 5-10 minutes

Intervention groupcontrol group
12-page health warning leafletBEHAVIORAL

Nurses will provide information about the consequences of drinking using a 12-page health warning booklet. Benefits of reducing and quit drinking will be emphasized by focusing on improving their perception towards the impacts on health, social problems, risky behaviors, academic performance and financial issues.

Intervention groupcontrol group
Regular messages through Instant Messaging (IM)BEHAVIORAL

A total of 26 e-messages will be scheduled: once daily for the first week, 3 time/week for subsequent 4 weeks and 1 time/week for the remaining 7 weeks. The frequency will be adjusted according to IM Apps conversation and subject's requests.

Intervention group
Real-time chat-based support through IM AppsBEHAVIORAL

The chat-based IM support is the extension of baseline ABI and regular e-messages, which aims to provide real-time behavioral and psychosocial support to reduce or quit drinking. It will be personalized according to the subjects' characteristics (gender, drinking pattern and alcoholic drinks preferences), intention to drink and specific questions regarding drinking. Through real-time chatting (text and/or voice), drinkers can acquire information on consequences of drinking and gain social support immediately to reduce intention to drink and alcohol consumption.

Intervention group
AUDIT score interpretation sheet adapted from the Department of Health of Hong KongBEHAVIORAL

a diagram explaining drinking behaviour and potential health risks, definitions of "alcohol unit" and "binge drinking", and advise on limiting daily drinking to 2 alcohol units for men and 1 unit for women

Intervention groupcontrol group

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • HK resident able to read/communicate in Cantonese/Putonghua. This may exclude potential subjects from other countries with higher alcohol consumption than local Chinese, but quality of the chat-based intervention is important for the research hypothesis, and it will not be feasible to recruit other language speakers (e.g., English) in the present study.
  • Aged ≥18 with proficiency in using IM Apps (e.g., WhatsApp, WeChat). Those aged \<18 are excluded as other studies suggest they have different patterns of alcohol drinking and reduction from adult drinkers.

You may not qualify if:

  • Those unable to understand or receive face-to-face ABI due to severe traumatic injury, unconscious, or drunk patients unable to follow commands
  • Anticipated to be admitted to in-patient department for \>1 week, which will interfere with the chat-based intervention
  • Having psychiatric/psychological diseases or receiving regular psychotropic medication
  • Participating in other alcohol reduction or abstinence programmes

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

School of Nursing, The University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, 000, Hong Kong

Location

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Ethanol

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

AlcoholsOrganic Chemicals

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
DOUBLE
Who Masked
INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

August 18, 2021

First Posted

August 24, 2021

Study Start

May 23, 2022

Primary Completion

September 30, 2024

Study Completion

March 31, 2025

Last Updated

August 1, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-07

Locations

HK(1)