Development and usability testing of an internet-based self-help program integrating acceptance and commitment...

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a severe medical problem that affects ethnic minority young adults. An internet-based self-help program integrating acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and behavioral activation (BA) was found promising. However, such integration has never been applied to people with AUD. Therefore, developing and testing this integration was warranted.

This study aimed to develop and test an internet-based self-help program integrating ACT and BA among ethnic minority young adults with AUD.

Four distinct phases were employed, including preparing self-help intervention content, expert panel review, developing an online intervention using Qualtrics, and usability testing. A total of 10 ethnic minority young adults with AUD were recruited for the usability test. Descriptive statistics and a one-sample t-test were employed to determine usability.

A total of 10 participants were invited to participate in the study, with a completion rate of 90%. The overall usability score was 74.72 (SD = 4.75). About 88.9% of participants found the intervention helpful, easy to navigate, and clear content and instructions. Participants spent about 10-30 minutes per module. Almost all participants received one reminder per module for completion. However, three participants experienced device incompatibility, internet interruptions, and login failures.

A new internet-based self-help ACT-BA intervention was developed and tested. The findings showed an excellent usability score. Future interventions will consider simple plain language over technical terms and incorporate withdrawal symptom management. Besides, conducting a brief session during recruitment to guide participants and sending a reminder, especially on holidays and weekends, is warranted.