JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

In recent years, web-based interventions for problem drinkers have been developed, and they appear to be effective in reducing alcohol consumption in some studies. However, most of the subjects included in the studies were students or those who were recruited through web advertisements, and the dropout rates were high.

Objective:

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a web-based brief intervention (BI) program to record daily drinking among problem drinkers in a workplace setting.

Methods:

A two-armed, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial was conducted at six workplaces in Japan. A one-off 30-minute face-to-face lecture was organized at each workplace, and the study was explained. The audience who wished to participate were asked to provide their written consent immediately after the one-off lecture. Among those who wished to participate, problem drinkers with an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score of eight or higher were randomly assigned into two groups. The participants allocated to the intervention group recorded their daily alcohol consumption for four weeks using SNAPPY-DOC, while those allocated to the control group received no intervention. Outcome measures included the amount of alcohol consumption in past seven days using the Timeline Follow-Back (TLFB) method in SNAPPY-DOC at baseline (Week 0), 8th week (Week 8), and 12th week (Week 12) and written AUDIT score at baseline (Week 0) and 12th week (Week 12). If there was no login to the program at 8th week (Week 8), and 12th week (Week 12), the researcher sent a reminder email to the participant one week later requesting a record. If there was still no response, a further week later, the researcher contacted the participants through the occupational health professionals or other personnel in their respective workplaces to request a record.

Results:

Hundred participants were assigned to either the intervention group (n=50) or the control group (n=50). All the participants logged into the program, and no participants dropped out of the follow-up. The results of two-way repeated measures ANOVA showed a statistically significant interaction between the Group and the Week factors in the two primary outcomes (number of alcohol-free days in the past seven days, total drinks in the past seven days in standard units) and secondary outcomes (AUDIT score) (P=.04, .02, and .03, respectively). The intervention group had reduced alcohol consumption from 329 g to 246 g per week on average at the 12-week evaluation (P<.001), while the control group had reduced from 294 g to 276 g per week on average (P=.83).

Conclusions:

The web-based BI program for problem drinkers (SNAPPY-DOC program) was considered to be low-cost, effective, and acceptable for implementation in actual workplace settings. Clinical Trial: University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000037698; https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000042703