Text Messaging to Reduce High-risk Alcohol Use Among Older Adults

NCT06319885 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: SDU project nr. 3110386ID: 158341
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

High-risk drinking is very prevalent among Danes aged 55+. It poses a serious risk to health and independent living, burdening health care systems and family members. Measures to reduce high-risk alcohol use in this growing group at need are urgently needed. A recent small study from the US shows that text messaging reduces high-risk alcohol intake in older adults. The investigators will conduct a pilot study with the same intervention in Denmark, with adaptations to language and culture. The pilot study will investigate among Danish older adults whether text messaging is well-accepted by participants and feasible in terms of reducing 1) high-risk drinking and 2) commonly accompanying problems with daily functioning, social relationships, and mental and physical health. The pilot-trial will include n=60 adults aged 55-80 years who will receive alcohol-related text messages (within a secure app for data protection purposes) over 12 weeks. Assessments will include a baseline assessment and a post-assessment.

Conditions

Hazardous Alcohol Use

Keywords

older adults; digital intervention; prevention; text messaging

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• High-risk alcohol use (yes/no)

  Drinking over 120 gram ethanol in seven days (determined by outcomes 4 \& 5 )

  Assessed at 12 weeks after baseline, alcohol use through the past seven days

Secondary Outcomes (8)

• WHOQOL-Bref (The World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version )

  Assessed at 12 weeks after baseline

• OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DRINKING SCALE (OCDS)

  Through the past seven days, assessed at 12 weeks after baseline

• Drinker Inventory of Consequences (DrInC-2R)

  Through the past 14 days, assessed at 12 weeks after baseline

• Frequency of alcohol use

  Assessed at 12 weeks after baseline, alcohol use through the past seven days

• Amount of alcohol use

  Assessed at 12 weeks after baseline, alcohol use through the past seven days

Study Arms (6)

Gain-framed

EXPERIMENTAL

One daily text-message and weekly alcohol use assessment. The text-messages focus on the positive consequences of drinking less.

Behavioral: Text messaging

Loss-framed

EXPERIMENTAL

One daily text-message and weekly alcohol use assessment. The text-messages focus on the negative consequences of a high alcohol-intake.

Behavioral: Text messaging

Static-tailored

EXPERIMENTAL

One daily text-message and weekly alcohol use assessment. The text-messages are adapted to the participant's gender and to baseline information on (e.g.) participants' drinking patterns, social network, and self-efficacy. One message per week is adapted to the day on which the participants find it most challenging to reduce their drinking.

Behavioral: Text messaging

Adaptive-tailored

EXPERIMENTAL

One daily text-message and weekly alcohol use assessment. The text-messages are adapted to the participant's gender and to baseline information on (e.g.) participants' drinking patterns, social network, and self-efficacy. One message per week is adapted to the day on which the participants find it most challenging to reduce their drinking. In addition, text messages are adapted to the weekly alcohol-assessment over time and participants can demand supportive Just-In-Time messages.

Behavioral: Text messaging

Combined

EXPERIMENTAL

This arm combines all features of the arms Adaptive-tailored and Gain-framed.

Behavioral: Text messaging

Assessment-only

NO INTERVENTION

The control group. Participants do only receive 4 questions on their alcohol intake once a week.

Interventions

Text messaging BEHAVIORAL

Participants receive text messages related to their alcohol consumption.

Adaptive-tailored; Combined; Gain-framed; Loss-framed; Static-tailored

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 55 Years - 80 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• consumption of \> 10 standard drinks á 12 gram ethanol per week (i.e., high-risk alcohol use defined by the Danish Health Authority) in the past four weeks
• desire to reduce drinking
• age 55 to 80 years
• mobile phone ownership and willingness to receive and respond to text messages
• fluency in Danish.

You may not qualify if:

• drinking more than 53 standard drinks per week in the last four weeks
• past 12 month alcohol withdrawal symptoms or lifetime history of serious withdrawal symptoms (e.g., seizures)
• score above 12 on the Short alcohol withdrawal scale; SAWS
• possible drug dependence (i.e., use of illegal drugs or psychotropic medication taken without prescription more than once a month)
• indication of serious psychiatric illness (lifetime diagnosis of psychosis or bipolar disorder, inpatient treatment or medication for these, recent suicidality)
• current alcohol/drug abuse treatment or a desire to start alcohol/drug abuse treatment during the study
• medical condition that requires abstinence from alcohol
• wish to achieve abstinence (applied to secure a focus on reduction)
• lack of understanding of study protocol or reading difficulty as evidenced by a score of less than 7 out of 10 on the consent form quiz.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Southern Denmark: lead
• Anette Søgaard Nielsen, PhD: collaborator
• Kjeld Andersen, PhD: collaborator
• Angelina Mellentin, PhD: collaborator
• Alexis Kuerbis: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Southern Denmark, Department of Psychology

Odense, Southern Denmark, 5230, Denmark

RECRUITING

Study Officials

• Silke Behrendt, PhD

  University of Southern Denmark

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Silke Behrendt, PhD

CONTACT

+4593507195; sbehrendt@health.sdu.dk

Anette S Nielsen, PhD

CONTACT

0045 29 13 58 25; ansnielsen@health.sdu.dk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Masking Details: Participants are informed in the study material that they are allocated to groups that receive different text messages. They receive no further information on the intervention groups.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Model Details: Participants are assigned to either one out of six intervention conditions with different types of text messaging (including one assessment-only control condition).

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 4, 2024
• First Posted: March 20, 2024
• Study Start: April 15, 2024
• Primary Completion: April 15, 2025
• Study Completion: April 15, 2025
• Last Updated: April 2, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

DK (1)