Systematic Review: Culturally Tailored Digital Substance Use Prevention Interventions for Black Adolescents

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Digital Health
• Adolescent Health

Background:

• Black adolescents exhibit unique substance use patterns and barriers to intervention.
• Digital interventions offer a potential avenue for culturally tailored substance use prevention.
• No systematic review has previously assessed the efficacy of these interventions for this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and examine the efficacy of culturally tailored digital interventions for substance use prevention among Black adolescents.
• To assess the level of cultural tailoring (surface vs. deep) and its impact on outcomes.
• To identify effective intervention strategies and settings.

Main Methods:

• Systematic search of biomedical databases for randomized controlled trials.
• Inclusion of studies comparing culturally tailored interventions for Black adolescents with control groups.
• Narrative synthesis of study and intervention characteristics, substance use outcomes, and study quality assessment.

Main Results:

• Six studies involving 6 interventions met inclusion criteria, with Black adolescent representation ranging from 41% to 100%.
• Four interventions significantly improved substance use outcomes across alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, and other drugs.
• Five interventions positively impacted antecedents to substance use, with effects persisting at long-term follow-up in 75% of studies.

Conclusions:

• Culturally tailored digital interventions demonstrate effectiveness in improving substance use outcomes for Black adolescents across various settings.
• Challenges remain in isolating the impact of cultural tailoring due to variability in reporting and study design.
• There is a critical need to design, test, and implement advanced digital interventions tailored to the specific needs of Black adolescents to combat rising substance use rates.