A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of an Internet-Based Alcohol Intervention in a Workplace Setting

Abstract

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01931618.

Editorial on IJBM Special Issue—E-Health Interventions for Addictive Behaviors

“…This finding is somewhat in contrast with the conclusion in the review of reviews by Sundström et al [1] in this special issue, where the general tendency is that longer interventions lead to larger effects. It is, however, in line with the longer-term findings of Brendryen et al [14] in their RCT on brief versus intensive self-help for alcohol in the workplace setting. Although the study had limited power due to a small sample size (n = 85) according to the authors, there were indications of differences in effects to the advantage of more intensive self-help on the short term (2 months after baseline).…”

“…Four of the five papers [13][14][15][16] are randomized controlled trials (RCTs), while the fifth paper presents a large naturalistic cohort study [12]. In the latter cohort study, Johansson et al examined intervention use patterns and variables associated with reductions in alcohol consumption for 1043 Internet help-seekers.…”

“…These two studies [13,14] underline the fact that it remains relatively unclear what aspects of self-help interventions make them effective. This notion is further supported by the findings of Gajecki et al [15] who evaluated the effectiveness of two smartphone apps for alcohol moderation among university students in an RCT.…”

“…1 for an example of four visualizations from interventions described in this issue that contrast with one another. The main body of articles in the issue follows three key themes, with three articles focusing on the methodology of developing e-health interventions [3][4][5], six focusing on issues of alliance and engagement with e-health interventions [6][7][8][9][10][11], and five articles reporting on empirical outcomes [12][13][14][15][16]. While the focus throughout is addictive behaviors, much of the knowledge collected in the issue has clear relevance for other behaviors, both in the mental health field and in the management of somatic illness, where the user's behavior is essential for maintaining or improving health.…”

Effectiveness of occupational e-mental health interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…To assess different sample sizes and pretest values, an effect size based on the mean pre-post change in the treatment group minus the mean pre-post change in the control group, divided by the pooled pretest standard deviation, was determined (46) 1 . Four studies did not provide standard deviations and means (47)(48)(49)(50). For one study (47), we used the effect size transformation formula and calculated Cohen's d from the eta-squared value and adjusted it for small sample bias (51).…”