Family-focused vs. Drinker-focused Smartphone Interventions to Reduce Drinking-related Consequences of COVID-19

NCT05419128 | Completed Results DMC

• 2 other identifiers: 2021-09435R01AA029804
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 398
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This R01 project titled "Family-focused vs. Drinker-focused Smartphone Interventions to Reduce Drinking-related Consequences of COVID-19" is a Hybrid II RCT/implementation study to modify and test two of our alcohol smartphone interventions to address the fallout from COVID. We propose a three-arm RCT comparing a smartphone control group vs. a drinker-focused intervention vs. a family-focused intervention. All study arms recruit dyads comprising a person who drinks and a family partner.

Conditions

Alcohol Use Disorder; Family Members; Behavior, Addictive

Keywords

mobile phone applications; quality of life; Alcohol Use Disorder; family therapy; high-risk drinking; alcohol behavioral couple therapy; COVID-19; mHealth; eHealth; ACHESS; PartnerCHESS

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• % of Patient Risky Drinking Days

  Risky drinking day will be defined as greater than 4 drinks for men and greater than 3 drinks for women and will be measured through the Timeline Followback every 120 days. 8 months was the end of the intervention, 12 months was the final follow-up (4 months after the intervention ended).

  8 and 12 months

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Psychological Distress

  Baseline, 4, 8, and 12 months

• % Days Abstinent

  Baseline, 4, 8, and 12 months

• Relationship Satisfaction

  Baseline, 4, 8, and 12 months

Other Outcomes (1)

• % of Patient Risky Drinking Days

  Baseline, 4 months

Study Arms (3)

ACHESS

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

In ACHESS, both the identified patient and the concerned significant other will receive a smartphone, but only the identified patient will receive the ACHESS app. The concerned significant other will receive a smartphone with contact information for standard AUD, SUD, and crisis support.

Behavioral: ACHESS

PartnerCHESS

EXPERIMENTAL

In the PartnerCHESS arm, identified patient and concerned significant other will both receive a smartphone with the PartnerCHESS app, which contains ACHESS services plus ABCT/ PartnerCHESS services.

Behavioral: PartnerCHESS

Smartphone Control

NO INTERVENTION

Both the identified patient and concerned significant other will receive a smartphone with pre-programmed contact information for Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Al-Anon, Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA), and crisis hot lines.

Interventions

ACHESS BEHAVIORAL

ACHESS offers the following, which are also available in PartnerCHESS: Covid content, Instant Library, Discussion Groups, Personal Stories, Location Monitor, Surveys and Ecological Momentary Assessments, Guided Relaxation, Healthy Activities, Crisis Button, Skills Reminders

ACHESS

PartnerCHESS BEHAVIORAL

The following ABCT services, from PartnerCHESS, will be available in the PartnerCHESS app but not in ACHESS: ABCT tutorials. Interactive e-learning modules explaining key ABCT skills. Agreements between identified patient and concerned significant other to follow key principles. Trigger identification and removal. Cravings discussion. Relapse plan. Reminders.

PartnerCHESS

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Identified patients and their concerned significant others must give informed consent; agree to complete interviews at baseline, 4, 8, and 12 months; and not have a mental or physical condition that limits smartphone use. Identified patients must be age 18 or older and meet criteria for risky drinking (for men, \>4 standard drinks in a day; for women, \>3 in a day), or meet criteria for AUD (any severity) defined by DSM-5 and have had at least 1 drink in the past 3 months . Partner must be a committed romantic partner/spouse, close friend or family member (e.g. sibling, parent, grandparent, adult child age 21 or older).

You may not qualify if:

• Individuals were not eligible if they had current (last 6 months) evidence of serious mental illness (eg, active psychosis, active manic phase), or if either partner reported serious interpersonal violence, to avoid risk of violence from engagement on potentially sensitive subjects.

Sponsors & Collaborators

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

Study Sites (1)

University of Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alcoholism; Behavior, Addictive; COVID-19

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Alcohol-Related Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders; Compulsive Behavior; Impulsive Behavior; Behavior; Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Respiratory Tract Infections; Infections; Virus Diseases; Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Lung Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Kasey Thompson
• Organization: CHESS - University of Wisconsin--Madison

kfwagner@wisc.edu

608-590-7821

Study Officials

• David Gustafson, PhD

  University of Wisconsin, Madison

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

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

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 13, 2022
• First Posted: June 15, 2022
• Study Start: April 6, 2022
• Primary Completion: July 2, 2024
• Study Completion: July 17, 2024
• Last Updated: February 19, 2026
• Results First Posted: May 22, 2025

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)