Combining a Smartphone App With Medications to Manage Heavy Drinking

Study Summary

One in 10 Veterans have an alcohol use disorder. However, few Veterans receive evidenced-based psychosocial interventions or medications to treat alcohol use disorder. Barriers to receiving these treatments include long wait times, stigma, and long distances from treatment facilities. Even fewer Veterans receive psychosocial and medication interventions together, despite clinical practice guidelines recommending both and evidence of better outcomes. Expanding access to these treatments in primary care is a VA priority but delivering psychosocial interventions is difficult in this setting, and medication is often the only option. Smartphone apps that deliver alcohol interventions may improve drinking outcomes and ensure Veterans can receive both treatments in primary care. This study will determine whether medications and an app for alcohol use problems offered to Veterans in primary care results in improved drinking outcomes, compared to Veterans receiving medications only. Study data will inform how to spread the app across the VA nationally.

Primary Outcome

Change from baseline to 6-month follow-up in percent heavy drinking days (HDD), defined as \>4 drinks per day for women and \>5 drinks per day for men, was selected as the primary outcome as it combines both frequency and intensity of drinking and is a clinically meaningful measure of change. HDD will be generated from the Timeline Follow Back (TLFB), a retrospective, calendar-based measure that provides information on quantity/frequency of alcohol use in the past 30 days. Percent HDD will be ca

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• OTHER Standard Care
• OTHER Stand Down mobile app

Study Locations (15)