JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Digital interventions can help to overcome barriers to care including stigma, geographical distance and a lack of culturally appropriate treatment options. We Can Do This was a web-app designed with input from cultural advisors and end-users to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people seeking to stop or reduce their use of methamphetamine and increase psychosocial wellbeing.

Objective:

We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the web-app via a wait-list control, randomised trial

Methods:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 16 or over who self-identified as having used methamphetamine weekly for the past three months were invited to participate online. Following a baseline survey, participants were randomised to either the intervention group, who could access the web-app for six weeks, or the control group, who received harm-minimisation material. Participants repeated the survey at one, two and three months post-baseline. We hypothesized that the intervention group would have significantly reduced frequency of use at three-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes included help-seeking, psychosocial distress and days spent out of usual role due to methamphetamine use.

Results:

Participants at baseline were 210 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander men and women aged 16 or over. Methamphetamine use declined significantly in all participants who completed three-month follow-up, however there were no significant differences between intervention and control groups on the primary or secondary outcomes.

Conclusions:

Drop out and a lack of sustained engagement hindered our ability to evaluate the effectiveness of the web-app. Nonetheless, the trial gleaned some useful lessons relating to recruitment and engagement in web-apps. Clinical Trial: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12619000134123p; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=376088&isReview=true