Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Dec 31, 2021
Date Accepted: Jan 6, 2022
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited.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.
Developing a Smartphone-Based Adjunct Intervention to Reduce Cannabis Use Among Juvenile Justice-Involved Adolescents: A Multiphase Study Protocol
ABSTRACT
Background:
Adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system who use cannabis are at an increased risk for future substance use disorders and rearrest. Many court-involved, non-incarcerated (CINI) youth are referred for services in the community and often encounter multiple barriers to care, highlighting a need for minimally burdensome services that can be delivered in justice settings. Digital health interventions are accessible, easy to implement, and can provide ongoing support, but have not been developed to address the unique needs of CINI youth who use cannabis.
Objective:
This multiphase study will develop, implement, and pilot test a novel smartphone app, Teen Empowerment through Computerized Health (TECH), to reduce cannabis and other substance use among CINI youth. TECH is conceptualized as a digital adjunct to a brief computerized intervention delivered by our family court partner.
Methods:
Following the principles of user-centered design, Phase I interviews with CINI youth ages 14-18 (n = 14-18), their caregivers (n = 6-8), and behavioral health app developers (n = 6-8) will guide TECH design decisions. Next, in Phase II CINI youth (n = 10) will beta test the TECH app prototype for 1 month; their feedback regarding feasibility and acceptability will directly inform the app refinement process. Finally, in Phase III CINI youth (n = 60) will participate in a pilot randomized control trial for 6 months comparing the preliminary effectiveness of the adjunctive TECH app on cannabis use outcomes.
Results:
Phase I data collection began in September 2020 and was completed in December 2021; 14 CINI youth, 8 caregivers, and 11 behavioral health app developers participated. Phases II and III will take place in 2022-2023 and 2023-2025, respectively.
Conclusions:
This body of work will provide insight into the feasibility and acceptability of a smartphone-based adjunctive intervention designed for CINI youth. Phase III results will offer preliminary indication of the effectiveness of the TECH app in reducing cannabis use among CINI youth. Clinical Trial: We completed Phase I of this 3-phase research study in December 2021. The pilot RCT (Phase III of the research) is scheduled to launch in Summer 2023 and will be submitted for registration the clinicaltrials.gov website within 21 days of enrolling the first Phase III participant.
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