A Systematic Review of the mHealth Interventions to Prevent Alcohol and Substance Abuse

Abstract

Substance abuse in young adults is a public health issue with costs to the individual and society. There is mounting evidence that the increased uses of mHealth approaches have promise as a way to facilitate reductions in substance use. This systematic review evaluated the recent body of research on mHealth-based interventions for substance use, with aims of (a) examining the functionality and effectiveness of these interventions, (b) evaluating the available research on the effectiveness of these interventions for substance use, and (c) evaluating the design, methodology, results, theoretical grounding, limitations, and implications of each study. We identified eligible studies by searching electronic databases using Boolean methods. The reviewed studies (N = 12) indicated that that a wide range of Internet-based, text messaging, and smartphone application interventions have been developed to address substance use. Interventions had an assortment of features; participants in each study highlighted the ease and convenience of the interventions; and the majority of studies provided support for the efficacy of mHealth in reducing substance use. Mobile technology is a promising tool for reducing substance use and warrants further development. Future practice including the use of mHealth interventions can be an integral part of reducing substance use.

Consumer Health Information Technology in the Prevention of Substance Abuse: Scoping Review (Preprint)

“…The Wood et al review on the other hand emphasized the need for further research to better understand the value of human contact in health interventions and to determine the optimal levels of professional input [19], while the Hopson et al 2015 review identified these modes as cost-effective options for reaching more individuals but on the whole reported mixed findings in terms of the effectiveness over traditional methods [20]. Two reviews conducted by Jiang et al in 2017 and Kazemi et al in 2017 reviewed the use of telephone and mobile technology in substance use prevention and found that while it was a promising means to address substance use, the studies included in the reviews for the most part showed either inconclusive or mixed results in terms of the efficiency and efficacy [50,59].…”

Smartphone Apps About Crystal Methamphetamine (“Ice”): Systematic Search in App Stores and Assessment of Composition and Quality (Preprint)

“…Whilst one of the apps reviewed had been subject to a randomised controlled trial [37], rigorous evaluations of app effectiveness in the illicit substance use field are rare [12,13]. Whilst scientific evaluation of the effectiveness of apps is important, the speed with which the app market and the technology on which it is based changes rapidly, and the length of time needed to conduct and publish randomised controlled trials presents a considerable challenge to researchers [12].…”

“…Whilst one of the apps reviewed had been subject to a randomised controlled trial [37], rigorous evaluations of app effectiveness in the illicit substance use field are rare [12,13]. Whilst scientific evaluation of the effectiveness of apps is important, the speed with which the app market and the technology on which it is based changes rapidly, and the length of time needed to conduct and publish randomised controlled trials presents a considerable challenge to researchers [12]. Some reviewers have suggested it might be useful for the mHealth field more broadly to focus on more pragmatic and less traditional modes of evaluation to assess the effectiveness of apps and other mHealth interventions to enable the field to build the evidence-base more quickly [20,25].…”

“…Smartphone devices are now widely used, with 64% of the US and 74% of the Australian population owning a device in 2015-16 [10,11], and 62% of smartphone owners reporting that they used their phone to access health-related information in the past year [10]. Like Internet-based interventions, smartphone apps offer numerous advantages in terms of addressing public health issues [12,13], such as increased accessibility, portability of information, lowcosts, anonymity, and the ability to provide tailored feedback and support.…”

“…We found one review that specifically reviewed apps that promote illicit drug use [32], and one review that analysed illicit drug overdose apps [33]. We identified two systematic reviews of online and mobile interventions targeting problematic substance use [12,13], both of which reviewed published intervention studies rather than available apps per se. We were unable to identify an existing systematic review of publicly available apps targeting either illicit drug use in general or crystal methamphetamine specifically.…”