RecruitingACTRN12616001171404

Nutrition and Lifestyle Modifications to an Internet-based Treatment for Alcohol Misuse

For drinkers with alcohol misuse issues will the combination of a weekly 'Healthy Living' newsletter and an online alcohol treatment reduce their consumption of alcohol?

Sponsor

Queensland University of Technology

Enrollment

150 participants

Start Date

Oct 12, 2015

Study Type

Interventional

Conditions

Alcohol Misuse

Summary

The current project aims to assess the impact of a combined treatment, comprising an existing online alcohol support program – OnTrack (www.ontrack.org.au), together with emails and newsletters focusing on nutrition and healthy lifestyle "OnTrack to Cutting Down and Feeling Good" emailed newsletters. Approximately150 male and female participants, aged over 18 years and drinking more than 14 standard drinks per week will be recruited in to the OnTrack online alcohol program. They will be randomised into three groups and assessed on their drinking behaviour, physical activity, and diet at the start of the study and then again after participating in OnTrack Alcohol and receiving the emailed "OnTrack to Cutting Down and Feeling Good" newsletters.

Eligibility

Sex: Both males and femalesMin Age: 18 Yearss

Inclusion Criteria2

Participants must report a weekly alcohol consumption over the previous month of >14 standard drinks/week for both men and women.
Participants must have sufficient English to complete treatment and assessments without translation and be able and willing to access the internet and email or text messages.

Exclusion Criteria4

Use of injected drugs in the previous month or report daily use of an illicit substance. Self-reported history of a psychosis lasting > 2 days or a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder. Acutely suicidal.
People under the age of 18 have been excluded from this research as child and adolescent treatment requires different clinical considerations and approaches than adult.
People in existing dependent or unequal relationships with any member of the research team will not be recruited into the study to avoid any potential coercion or breaches of confidentiality. Any people in such relationships who express interest in the research will be referred to other appropriate sources for treatment.
As is the case for adolescents, it is recommended by the NHMRC that pregnant women abstain from alcohol use for the duration of their pregnancy. As this project does not specifically promote or require abstinence as a treatment goal, this treatment could directly conflict with this advice. Additionally, the risks involved in treatment failure are too high to be acceptable. Any pregnant women referred to the project will be referred for appropriate face-to-face treatment that can provide the high level of monitoring and support that is required by this group. People who are highly dependent on medical care may have conditions that are exacerbated by alcohol use and therefore require an abstinence goal. As for adolescents and pregnant women, these people will be referred to other appropriate treatment.

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Interventions

The current study aims to evaluate the efficacy of adding a nutrition and healthy lifestyle component to an existing online alcohol treatment program for people who are drinking alcohol at harmful levels. This study is a randomised controlled trial with 3 comparison treatments, each with approximately 50 participants, who will be followed up for 6 months. The 3 treatments that will be compared are: 1. OnTrack Participants (OTP) – The Ontrack Alcohol program includes the following components: a step by step guide, a personal diary for recording drinking + mood, graphs, interactive tools, summary pages - and the following modules: Making Plans, First Steps, Closing a Risky Track, Taking Care in Risky Situations, Developing a Close Relationship, Building a New Life. These modules take approximately 90 minutes to complete. 2. OnTrack plus Newsletter Support (OTNS) – This group consists of OnTrack participants, who are also receiving an additional six emailed newsletters about their use of the OnTrack program. Newsletters are emailed to participants on a weekly basis, beginning in week 2. Participants will be asked to respond to these emails. If there is no response this is followed up with email and phone call if necessary to check that the newsletters are being received. The option to stop these follow up emails will be given to the participants. 3. OnTrack plus Healthy Living (OTHL) -– This group consists of OnTrack participants, who are also receiving an additional six emailed newsletters about their use of the OnTrack program and information and ideas aimed at being healthy. Specifically, this entails suggestions and advice aimed at encouraging healthier eating and more walking activities. Newsletters are emailed to participants on a weekly basis, beginning in week 2. Participants will be asked to respond to these emails. If there is no response this is followed up with email and phone call if necessary to check that the newsletters are being received. The option to stop these follow up emails will be given to the participants. Following recruitment, participants are randomly assigned to the OnTrack treatment (OTP) condition, the OnTrack plus Newsletter Support (OTNS) treatment, or the OnTrack Healthy Living (OTHL) condition. Participants in all three groups are encouraged to access the site as often as they want and to work through the program at their own pace. Participants can come back to the program and work through the activities as many times as they like. Participants in all three groups are sent automated reminder emails if they haven't logged onto the Ontrack program in 14 days. The database allows Ontrack administrators to assess the number of times people have logged in, the duration of their use of the program and the number of pages visited. Duration of intervention period for all groups is 3 months. Primary assessments will occur at Baseline, 3, and 6 months. Primary predictions are that: (1) OTHL interventions will have superior alcohol outcomes at 3 and 6 months, compared with OTP and OTNS, and (2) OTHL will elicit greater client satisfaction and completion rate than OTP and OTNS.