Evaluating Telehealth Delivery of Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students

NCT06774300 | Not Yet Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: R01AA031252
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 600
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This research study will test the efficacy of a telehealth version of the Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS), which is the gold standard prevention and intervention approach to target heavy alcohol use on college campuses across the United States.

Conditions

Alcohol Consumption

Keywords

alcohol; drinking; brief intervention; teleheath

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Alcohol use

  Quantity and frequency of alcohol use in the past month (i.e., how many days drank and how many drinks per occasion). Assessed at baseline and then 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-months post-baseline.

  Assessed over the course of 12 months

• Alcohol-related consequences

  Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire assesses past month consequences from alcohol use. Higher scores indicate more endorsement of the 24 consequences (yes/no) items on the scale. Outcome assessed at baseline and then 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-months post-baseline

  Assessed over the course of 12 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Completion rates

  One time assessment at end of program, after 1 session is completed 1 to 2 weeks post-baseline

Study Arms (3)

In-person BASICS

EXPERIMENTAL

This intervention conditions consist of a feedback interview with a trained facilitator. The feedback interview is a one-hour intervention based on the information provided during the baseline assessment. The content and process of the interview will be similar to methods developed and tested by Marlatt and colleagues and described in detail in the BASICS manual. Trained facilitators will meet individually with the students in-person and provide concrete personalized feedback regarding the following BASICS content: drinking patterns, drinking norms, risks, beliefs about alcohol and its effects, and protective behavioral strategies

Behavioral: BASICS

Tele-BASICS

EXPERIMENTAL

This intervention conditions consist of a feedback interview with a trained facilitator just like in the in-person BASICS condition. However, the feedback interview will be conducted over Zoom. Trained facilitators will meet individually with the students using video conferencing software and provide concrete personalized feedback regarding the following BASICS content: drinking patterns, drinking norms, risks, beliefs about alcohol and its effects, and protective behavioral strategies

Behavioral: BASICS

Treatment as usual

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The control group for this study will receive the universities' online program that is typically given to students as a first line sanction. The program is informed by BASICS, but includes no facilitator, either in-person or online. It is primarily text-based with some graphics. It contains alcohol information (physiological reactions at specific blood alcohol levels, safe drinking tips, signs of alcohol poisoning), descriptions of alcohol laws and policies (on campus, minor in possession laws), campus and national resources (e.g., contact information for crisis hotlines and student counseling center), and personalized feedback (e.g., number of calories consumed via alcoholic drinks, money spent on alcohol).

Behavioral: Online alcohol programming

Interventions

BASICS BEHAVIORAL

The intervention is the BASICS protocol outlined in the BASICS manual. It includes an online self-administered assessment and then delivery of a feedback session either in-person or over Zoom.

In-person BASICS; Tele-BASICS

Online alcohol programming BEHAVIORAL

This is a control intervention that is used as the first-line sanction for students at the two universities. It is an online program, informed by BASICS content, but contains no facilitator and is self-directed.

Treatment as usual

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 26 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• between 18 and 26 years of age
• fluent in understanding English
• a registered student at one of the two intervention sites
• adequate internet capabilities to support video-conferencing
• access to a webcam, which is a standard features of most laptops, mobile devices, and desktops
• engage in binge drinking (i.e., 4 or more standard drinks in a sitting for women or 5 or more standard drinks in a sitting for men) at least once in the past month (for the volunteer sample only)
• experienced at least one negative alcohol-related consequence in the previous month (mandated students would meet this due to receiving an alcohol sanction)
• reports a score of 2 or higher on questions about a) interest in reducing their drinking, or b) interest in not increasing their drinking.

Sponsors & Collaborators

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

Study Sites (1)

University of Houston

Houston, Texas, 77204, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alcohol Drinking

Interventions

Ethanol

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Drinking Behavior; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Alcohols; Organic Chemicals

Study Officials

• Eric R Pedersen, Ph.D.

  University of Southern California

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Clayton Neighbors, Ph.D.

  University of Houston

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Eric R Pedersen, Ph.D.

CONTACT

323-442-4046; Eric.Pedersen@med.usc.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: It will be clear to participants and facilitators which intervention condition participants are in. Therefore, masking will be conducted at the data analyses level
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 31, 2024
• First Posted: January 14, 2025
• Study Start: September 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2029
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2030
• Last Updated: January 15, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-01

Locations

US (1)