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Supplemental Intervention for Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment Patients With a Co-Occurring Anxiety Disorder: Technical
Linda Marie Rinehart1, Justin Anker1, Amanda Unruh1
1Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States.
JMIR Formative Research
|December 31, 2024
Summary
A new digital intervention for alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients with anxiety shows promise. Over 80% of users mastered key skills, suggesting digital tools can bridge the research-to-practice gap.
Area of Science:
- Digital Health
- Behavioral Science
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Anxiety disorders frequently co-occur with alcohol use disorder (AUD), negatively impacting treatment outcomes.
- Comorbid anxiety in AUD patients often remains unaddressed in standard care, highlighting a treatment gap.
- A validated cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention exists but faces low adoption in community settings due to the research-to-practice gap.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a fully autonomous digital version of a previously validated therapist-delivered CBT intervention for AUD patients with comorbid anxiety.
- To address barriers in the research-to-practice gap by creating a scalable digital therapeutic.
Main Methods:
- Phase 1 involved formative work, including collaborator identification, e-learning consultation, storyboard and graphic development, video production, and interactive programming.
- Phase 2 consisted of functional testing with 52 residential AUD patients with comorbid anxiety, involving a 3-hour digital intervention and assessments.
- Assessments included user surveys, knowledge quizzes, and behavioral competence tests to evaluate intervention reception and learning.
Main Results:
- Digital intervention development took 2 years, double the projected timeline, with lessons learned from inefficiencies.
- Patients reported favorable user experiences, rating the intervention in the upper 20% of response scales.
- Over 80% of participants achieved functional mastery of key skills and information presented in the digital intervention.
Conclusions:
- Functional testing results support a randomized controlled trial to assess the digital intervention's efficacy.
- Sharing development challenges and solutions can inform future digital tool creation.
- The study represents a crucial first step in evaluating the potential of autonomous digital interventions to reduce the research-to-practice gap.
Keywords:
addictionalcohol use disorderanxiety disordercommunity-based practicecomorbiditydepressiondigital interventionpsychological treatmentsstresstherapist-delivered therapiestherapyMore Related Videos
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