Previously submitted to: JMIR Aging (no longer under consideration since Dec 03, 2019)
Date Submitted: Sep 12, 2019
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
An Exploratory of Study of a Text Messaging Intervention to Reduce Problematic Alcohol Use among Adults 50 and Older
ABSTRACT
Background:
Given both a worldwide aging population and increasing rates of high-risk alcohol use, rates of adults 50 and older with high-risk alcohol use and associated problems are rapidly growing. Several barriers to prevention, intervention, and treatment persist among this group. Mobile interventions, specifically those who use text messaging (TM), can provide an opportunity for early intervention and prevention of problems.
Objective:
This study is a secondary analysis of data from a pilot study of a TM intervention among high-risk drinkers (N=151) with one third of the participants 50 to 65 years old. Feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of the intervention for older adults (OA) were explored compared to their younger adult (YA, 21-49 years old) counterparts.
Methods:
Between age group differences at baseline and end of treatment (12 weeks) were explored. An age group by TM type (loss framed/gain framed, tailored, or assessment only) interaction was tested to determine whether there was a moderating effect of age group on TM type.
Results:
Few baseline differences emerged between age groups, except that OA drank almost daily, while YA drank fewer days but more heavily on the days they drank. Only OA ranked boredom as one of the most challenging situations to not drink heavily. The TM intervention was effective at 12 weeks in reducing drinking among both age groups, though slightly more effective for YA than for OA and with tailored messaging outperforming the other two TM types on drinking outcomes. Among OA, loss and gain framed messages were effective on the additional health outcomes. All participants reported satisfaction with the intervention and two-thirds in both age groups elected to continue receiving TM after the study period concluded.
Conclusions:
There is preliminary evidence that TM is feasible, acceptable, and effective across age groups. Findings also suggest that further adaptation of TM across age group could enhance its effectiveness.
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Copyright
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