Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Apr 17, 2023
Date Accepted: Sep 23, 2023
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited.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.
The Hello Sunday Morning Alcohol and Wellbeing Self-assessment: Preliminary Outcomes
ABSTRACT
Background:
Alcohol-related injuries and disease are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Early intervention is essential given the chronic, relapsing nature of alcohol use disorders. There is significant potential for widely accessible online screening tools to help individuals determine where they stand in terms of alcohol use and provide support recommendations. Screening and brief interventions (SBIs) provide individuals with a stigma-free opportunity to learn and think about the potential risks of drinking and prompt help-seeking behaviour by incorporating behaviour change techniques (BCTs). Further, as excessive alcohol use and mental health problems often occur concurrently, SBIs for both conditions simultaneously can potentially address a critical gap in alcohol and mental health treatment.
Objective:
We investigated the feasibility, acceptability, and real-world effectiveness of the Alcohol and Wellbeing Self-assessment (A&WS), a web based SBI.
Methods:
The A&WS is freely available on the Hello Sunday Morning website, as part of an uncontrolled, observational prospective study. Feasibility was assessed by the number of respondents who commenced and subsequently completed the A&WS. Acceptability was measured via participant feedback to determine overall satisfaction, perceived helpfulness, and likelihood of recommending the A&WS to others. Effectiveness was measured in two ways to investigate whether the AW&S contributed to positive outcomes for those with problematic alcohol consumption and comorbid mental health difficulties: (1) Changes in alcohol consumption (AUDIT score) or psychological distress (K-10 score) over time, (2) Help-seeking - both self-reported, and immediate online help-seeking. Preliminary baseline data collected for the first 9 months (March to December 2022) of the study is reported, including 3-month follow-up outcomes.
Results:
A total of 17,628 participants commenced the A&WS, and of these, 14,419 (81.8%) completed the A&WS. Of those completing the A&WS, 1,323 (9.2%) agreed to participate in the follow-up research. Acceptability was high, with around 80% reporting high satisfaction levels overall, 95.6% found the A&WS easy to use, and would recommend the tool to others. Monthly follow-ups were completed by 378 (1-month), 279 (2-month), and 233 (3-month) participants respectively. Significant reductions in AUDIT-C (P<.001) and K-10 scores (P<.001) were observed over the three-month follow-up period, suggesting that participation in the A&WS contributed to reduced alcohol consumption and psychological distress.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that the A&WS is a feasible, acceptable, and effective digital SBI that supports individuals to make changes to their alcohol consumption and improve their psychological wellbeing. This scalable, cost-effective tool has the potential to reach large numbers of adults who might not otherwise access help whilst complementing the alcohol and mental health treatment ecosystem. Clinical Trial: Not applicable
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