A Novel Just-in-Time Intervention for Promoting Safer Drinking Among College Students: App Testing Across 2...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Behavioral Science
• Digital Health

Background:

• Binge drinking is a significant issue among US college students, leading to adverse health and social outcomes.
• Mobile phone-based behavioral interventions offer a promising avenue for reducing harmful alcohol consumption.
• Safer drinking behaviors can be promoted through accessible digital tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the preliminary efficacy of bhoos, a novel smartphone application designed to encourage safer drinking habits in US college students.
• To assess the app's impact on students' confidence in employing protective drinking strategies and their self-reported alcohol consumption frequency.

Main Methods:

• Two independent 4-week pre-post studies were conducted with US college students aged 18-35.
• The bhoos app features on-demand educational content, dynamic consumption logging, and real-time blood alcohol content estimation.
• Primary outcome: self-reported confidence in protective drinking strategies. Secondary outcome: self-reported alcohol consumption frequency.

Main Results:

• Study 1 demonstrated increased confidence in protective behavioral strategies and high app usability and engagement.
• Study 2 replicated the increase in confidence and showed a significant reduction in self-reported alcohol consumption frequency.
• The app's features, including interactive tracking and feedback, contributed to positive behavioral changes.

Conclusions:

• Bhoos serves as a personalized, accessible, and scalable digital intervention for college campuses.
• The app shows strong potential for effectively mitigating alcohol-related behaviors among students.
• Digital health solutions like bhoos are vital for addressing public health challenges in higher education.