Behavioral Economic Treatment to Enhance Rural (BETTER) Living

NCT05235971 | Completed Results

• 2 other identifiers: HUM001819401K23AA028232
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 75
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of this trial is to get feedback to help develop programs delivered by phone and text messages to improve wellness and health behaviors. This study will enroll adult participants that have been seen in primary care settings and live in rurally designated areas.

Conditions

Alcohol Use, Unspecified

Keywords

Heavy alcohol consumption; Alcohol misuse

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Feasibility of the Intervention - Screening

  Percent of participants who complete intervention phone call

  Day 1 of Intervention

• Feasibility of the Intervention - Enrollment

  Percent of participants who elect to receive text messages

  Day 1 of Intervention

• Intervention Acceptability: Number of Participants Who Rated the Intervention as Acceptable

  Number of participants with positive acceptability ratings who indicated enjoying the intervention at least a little bit. In a phone survey, participants were asked to rate their enjoyment of the intervention on a scale of 1-5, where 1 was "not at all" and 5 was "extremely". Scores of 2 ("a little bit") or more were considered to be positive indicators of acceptability.

  2 Weeks Post-Intervention

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Alcohol Consumption

  The 2 weeks (14-days) of the intervention period

Study Arms (4)

Episodic Future thinking (EFT)

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will receive up to 3 messages a day that include assessment and intervention messages.The messages will describe positive, non-alcohol related events at future time points to facilitate extension of temporal consideration toward future-focused perspectives.

Behavioral: Episodic Future thinking

Volitional choice (VC)

EXPERIMENTAL

VC creates structured if-then plans to dismantle context-linked alcohol use. Participants will receive up to 3 messages a day that include assessment and intervention messages.

Behavioral: Volitional choice

Episodic Future thinking plus Volitional choice

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will receive both EFT and VC interventions with text messages.

Behavioral: Episodic Future thinking; Behavioral: Volitional choice

Monitoring only

OTHER

This is a control group in which participants will receive general psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Monitoring only

Interventions

Episodic Future thinking BEHAVIORAL

During a visit with the study team, participants will identify personally-relevant reminders, or cues, that they will receive up to 3 messages a day via text-message over a two-week period. The messages will describe positive, non-alcohol related events at future time points to facilitate extension of temporal consideration toward future-focused perspectives. In addition, participants will have phone meetings (video or not) where health behaviors as well as survey information is noted and collected

Episodic Future thinking (EFT); Episodic Future thinking plus Volitional choice

Volitional choice BEHAVIORAL

Volitional choice creates structured if-then plans to dismantle context-linked alcohol use The messages sent over a two-week period facilitate alternative, healthier choices by identifying and linking risky cues with alternative actions. Participants will receive up to 3 messages a day for 14 days that include assessment and intervention messages. In addition, participants will have phone meetings (video or not) where health behaviors as well as survey information is noted and collected.

Episodic Future thinking plus Volitional choice; Volitional choice (VC)

Monitoring only BEHAVIORAL

Participants will receive general psychoeducation about alcohol use, mental health, resources, and a description of the assessments to be completed over a two-week field testing period. In addition, participants will have phone meetings (video or not) where health behaviors as well as survey information is noted and collected.

Monitoring only

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• adults presenting in Michigan Medicine primary care
• home address in a rurally designated area (e.g., zip code, county),
• documented alcohol use in the Electronic Health Record (EHR) (e.g., alcohol use disorder diagnosis, alcohol misuse or heavy alcohol consumption).
• an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) score of ≥3 in females or ≥4 in males
• regular access to an internet-enabled device (e.g., smart phone, computer, tablet).

You may not qualify if:

• Does not understand English
• currently pregnant
• unable to provide informed consent due to medical/psychiatric reasons
• currently in treatment for a substance use disorder.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Michigan: lead
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Hellman L, Wilkins C, Bayrakdarian N, Jannausch M, Bonar EE, Walton MA, Lin LA, Staton M, Coughlin L. Rural- and nonrural-specific themes in personalized intervention messages for adults with at-risk alcohol use living in rural areas. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2026 Feb;34(1):8-17. doi: 10.1037/pha0000830.

  PMID: 41538227 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alcohol Drinking

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Drinking Behavior; Behavior

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Lara N. Coughlin, Ph.D.
• Organization: University of Michigan

laraco@med.umich.edu

734-936-3101

Study Officials

• Lara Coughlin, PhD

  University of Michigan

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: FACTORIAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 1, 2022
• First Posted: February 11, 2022
• Study Start: May 17, 2022
• Primary Completion: May 8, 2023
• Study Completion: June 8, 2023
• Last Updated: March 26, 2025
• Results First Posted: July 10, 2024

Record last verified: 2025-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)