Web-based Treatment Program for Female Problem Drinkers

University Of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The primary aim of this pilot study is to evaluate the potential usefulness of a World-Wide-Web-based (Web based) self-guided treatment program for women with problem drinking habits who live in rural areas of Missouri. As noted by experts in the field, alcohol treatment for women is in critical need of more and better treatment outcome research (Brady & Randall, 1999; Mantas, 1998; Smith & Weiner, 2000; Waller, 1998).The urgency of this need is clear, since approximately 4 million American women have drinking problems (Grant et al., 1994), and most existing treatment programs cannot be easily accessed by women in rural locations (Finfgeld, 2002a). In Missouri alone, it is estimated that 28,400 women are currently in need of outpatient substance abuse treatment (Missouri Department of Mental Health, 2003). Web-based treatment potentially offers an innovative way to deliver self-guided alcohol treatment to these individuals. The proposed treatment program will consist of reference materials, a self-assessment aid, goal-setting and decision-making exercises, ask-an-expert services, an asynchronous bulletin board, and synchronous chats. [unreadable] Women will be recruited using print-based advertising, public service announcements, and face-to-face presentations. Qualified participants will be randomly assigned to two treatment groups. Group A will have access to all online program components. Group B will serve as a non-Web-based comparison (standard care) cohort. Individuals in this group will receive the Web-based program materials in hardcopy format, and they will not have access to the asynchronous bulletin board, or synchronous chats. This investigation is designed to test the main hypothesis that individuals who have access to web-based treatment components experience greater reductions in drinking than those who are offered more traditional treatment options. Changes in drinking will be assessed at three months using the Alcohol Timeline Followback (TLFB) (Sobell, Brown, Leo, & Sobell, 1996). A large-scale randomized controlled study is planned pending the results of this project. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]