NCT02404662

Trial of Supportive Text Messages for Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder and a Co-morbid Depression

Single Blind Randomised Trial of Supportive Text Messages for Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder and a Co-morbid Depression

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 107 (actual)
• Sponsor: St Patrick's Hospital, Ireland · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 70 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Most patients who present with problem drinking also present with mood problems. Problem drinking and mood problems co-occurring together in individuals lead them to have more severe symptoms, greater disability and poorer quality of life than individuals with only problem drinking, and they pose a greater economic burden to society due to their higher use of health services. This study aims to assess the efficacy of a new, innovative and cost effective treatment strategy aimed at reducing the burden that these co-occurring conditions impose on the suffers and their families as well as the community and health systems. In a recent pilot study of supportive text messages for patients with problem drinking and co-occurring depression, the investigators established that patients who received twice daily supportive text messages for three months had significantly less depressive symptoms than those who did not receive such messages. There was also a trend to finding that patients who received the supportive text messages were more likely to have higher alcohol free days than those who did not receive any supportive text messages. This study seeks to extend the knowledge gained from the pilot study. A larger group of patients with alcohol use disorder and a depressive disorder will be randomly assigned to two groups. One group will receive supportive text messages for six months duration whilst the other group will receive no supportive text messages. The patients will be followed up at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months to determine which of the two groups have less alcohol and mood problems. It is anticipated that patients receiving supportive text messages will report significantly greater alcohol free days as well as significantly less relapses, hospitalizations and mood symptoms than those not receiving such messages.

Detailed description

Co-morbidity of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and mood disorders presents a great challenge to health systems and exacts a tremendous toll world-wide. Individuals with a dual diagnosis have more severe symptoms, greater disability and poor quality of life than those with either diagnosis alone, and pose a greater economic burden to society due to their higher use of treatment services. New, enhanced, efficient, innovative and cost effective treatment strategies aimed at reducing the burden that the disorders impose on the suffers and their families as well as the community and health systems are required. In a pilot trial of supportive text messages for patients with alcohol use disorders and co-morbid depression, the investigators established that patients who received twice daily supportive text messages for three months had significantly less depressive symptoms than those who did not receive such messages. There was also a trend to finding that patients who received the supportive text messages were more likely to have higher cumulative abstinence duration than those who did not receive any supportive text messages. This research seeks to extend the knowledge gained from the pilot trial. A randomised trial will be conducted on a larger sample size of patients with alcohol use disorder and a co-morbid depressive disorder (including bipolar depression) for an extended duration (6 months of supportive text messages and 1 year follow-up instead of 3 months text messages with 6 months follow-up in the pilot trial). It is hypothesised that patients receiving supportive text messages will report significantly greater cumulative abstinence duration as well as significantly less relapses, hospitalizations and mood symptoms than those not receiving such messages. It is anticipated that this technology intervention for relapse prevention will be acceptable to patients as well as cost effective.

Conditions

• Dual Diagnosis

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Supportive text messages intervention	The supportive text messages are based on existing aphorisms in the recovery literature. Each day patients will receive one message targeting mood and another message targeting abstinence from alcohol in accordance with the primary aims of our study. An example text message aimed at improving mood is: "Monitor changes in your mood; develop a list of personal warning signs." An example message targeting abstinence is: "Keep Sobriety as a number one priority and you will reach your goals. None of the messages will be repeated. The messages will be sent in the morning and evening, with the theme (mood/alcohol) of the messages pseudo-randomised according to delivery time, so that no more than three successive days will have the same theme sent at the same time slot.
OTHER	Control group	The control group will receive treatment as usual, as well as fortnightly thank you text messages and calls to ensure that they are still using their phone.

Timeline

• Start date: 2015-03-01
• Primary completion: 2018-03-01
• Completion: 2018-09-01
• First posted: 2015-03-31
• Last updated: 2017-10-05

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Ireland