The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be: To assess the effectiveness of the e-therapy program for problem drinking. The research questions of this study are: 1. Is an e-therapy program with therapist involvement, based on cognitive…
Source
Brief title
Condition
- Other condition
Synonym
Health condition
alcoholmisbruik en -afhankelijkheid
Research involving
Sponsors and support
Intervention
No registrations found.
Outcome measures
Primary outcome
The primary outcome measure is the proportion of patients achieving their
drinking goal (abstinence or moderate drinking).
Secondary outcome
Secondary measures are:
- Alcohol related complaints
- Quality of life
- Helping alliance
- Readiness to change
Background summary
Alcoholism often goes undiagnosed and most problem drinkers will never seek
treatment. There is a need to improve access to therapy for problem drinkers.
Improved access results in early identification of a drinking problem, and
causes a healthier and more rewarding life. The Internet offers a novel
opportunity to administer interventions for problem drinkers, and access to the
Internet is widespread and still growing.
Therefore the easily accessible Dutch e-therapy program www.alcoholdebaas.nl
was developed. A recent study by Postel et al. showed that e-therapy reaches
more women, higher-educated, and employed people, groups that are difficult to
reach in regular face-to-face therapy.
The results of a pilot study indicated that patients who finished the program
decreased their alcohol consumption significantly. Follow-up measures after 6
weeks and 6 months indicate that patients maintained this decrease in their
alcohol consumption. We now like to evaluated the effectiveness of the
e-therapy program in a randomized controlled trial.
Our hypothesis proposes that e-therapy patients will show a greater decrease in
their alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm, compared to the control
group.
Study objective
The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be: To assess the
effectiveness of the e-therapy program for problem drinking.
The research questions of this study are:
1. Is an e-therapy program with therapist involvement, based on cognitive
behaviour therapy, effective in terms of reducing alcohol consumption?
2. Does the reduction in alcohol consumption remain after 3 and 6 months?
3. Is an e-therapy program with therapist involvement, based on cognitive
behaviour therapy, effective in terms of improvement of health status, quality
of life, motivation for treatment, readiness to change, helping alliance and
patients* satisfaction?
4. Do patient*s characteristics such as demographics, drinking amount, severity
of health problems, motivation for treatment, and readiness to change, have
predictive value on the effectiveness of e-therapy?
Study design
This study will be a randomised controlled trial. Patients will be randomised
over two groups: an e-therapy group or a waiting list control group. The
control group will receive an email once every two weeks, for keeping them
involved in the study.
Intervention
The e-therapy program consists of an informational website with an online
counselling program for problem drinkers. The counselling program is a
structured treatment program consisting of two phases in which patient and
therapist communicate asynchronous, via the Internet only. Both are in separate
or remote locations and the interaction occurs with a delay between the
responses. The average duration of the e-therapy program is 3 months.The aim of
the e-therapy program is to motivate the patient to change their drinking
habits with the ultimate goal of reducing or stopping alcohol intake. The
program uses psycho-education, cognitive restructuring, and self-control
techniques. The method underlying the program is based on principles from the
cognitive behaviour therapy, motivational interviewing, and Prochaska and
DiClementes Stages of Change Model. Phase 1 of the program consists of four
registration assignments; focusing on the analysis of the participants drinking
habits. A personal advice is given at the end. Phase 2 is the treatment part,
consisting of five assignments. The patient sets a goal to quit drinking or
reduce drinking, and in five steps learns to reach this goal.
The waiting list control group starts with the e-therapy after 3 months. During
these 3 months, participants receive an informational email every 2 weeks.
Participants cannot reply to these messages. The messages involve alcohol
related information, psycho education, motivational messages or references to
the website or the forum.
Study burden and risks
The control group receives e-therapy after 3 months. During this period,
participants receive an email every two weeks.
The burden for participants is restricted to a minimum; it consists of 10 extra
questionnaires during the study period. This will be a burden of 2hours extra.
Nederland
Nederland
Listed location countries
Age
Inclusion criteria
1. Minimum age of 18;
2. Minimum drinking amount of 11 (females) or 16 (males) consumptions a week;
3. Maximum drinking amount of 50 consumptions a week for females and 72 a week for males;
4. Not received any other treatment for their drinking problem before;
5. Reading and writing the Dutch language;
6. Given informed consent.
Exclusion criteria
1. Severe physical illnesses or severe psychiatric illnesses;
2. Treatment or medication for psychiatric illnesses during the past six months.
Design
Recruitment
Followed up by the following (possibly more current) registration
No registrations found.
Other (possibly less up-to-date) registrations in this register
No registrations found.
In other registers
Register | ID |
---|---|
CCMO | NL20742.097.07 |