Utilization of communication technology by patients enrolled in substance abuse treatment

Abstract

Background Technology-based applications represent a promising method for providing efficacious, widely available interventions to substance abuse treatment patients. However, limited access to communication technology (i.e., mobile phones, computers, internet, and e-mail) could significantly impact the feasibility of these efforts, and little is known regarding technology utilization in substance abusing populations. Methods A survey was conducted to characterize utilization of communication technology in 266 urban, substance abuse treatment patients enrolled at eight drug-free, psychosocial or opioid-replacement therapy clinics. Results Survey participants averaged 41 years of age and 57% had a yearly household income of less than $15,000. The vast majority reported access to a mobile phone (91%), and to SMS text messaging (79%). Keeping a consistent mobile phone number and yearly mobile contract was higher for White participants, and also for those with higher education, and enrolled in drug-free, psychosocial treatment. Internet, e-mail, and computer use was much lower (39–45%), with younger age, higher education and income predicting greater use. No such differences existed for the use of mobile phones however. Conclusions Concern regarding the digital divide for marginalized populations appears to be disappearing with respect to mobile phones, but still exists for computer, internet, and e-mail access and use. Results suggest that mobile phone and texting applications may be feasibly applied for use in program-client interactions in substance abuse treatment. Careful consideration should be given to frequent phone number changes, access to technology, and motivation to engage with communication technology for treatment purposes.

Information and Communication Technologies Interest, Access, and Use: Survey of a Community Sample of Urban, Predominantly Black Women (Preprint)

“…The near universal report of cell phone ownership and use among our community-based sample is consistent with that of the general U.S. population [1] and clinicbased samples of urban, predominantly lower socioeconomic status patients [22,[24][25][26][27][28]. Yet with respect to smartphone ownership our findings differed from previous analyses.…”

Recent Internet Use and Associations with Clinical Outcomes among Patients Entering Addiction Treatment Involved in a Web-Delivered Psychosocial Intervention Study

“…We anticipated lower rates of internet use among unemployed, non-Caucasian, and uninsured participants based on potential structural barriers, 2,17,18 ; however, none of these findings bore out in this analysis. These results may be attributed to the increasing popularity of smartphone ownership among lower income populations.…”

“…15,17 The design and deployment of web-based psycho-social interventions for older adults is especially important as the demand for addiction treatment for this subgroup is anticipated to increase by 50 % between 2000 and 2020. 31 Cost and complexity of utilizing the internet are barriers to use among older adults.…”

“…Therefore, it is not known if lack of recent internet access is associated with lower acceptability and clinical impact of web-based psychosocial interventions. 17,18 The National Drug Abuse Treatment (NIDA) Clinical Trials Network (CTN) is comprised of a broad range of addiction treatment researchers and community-based service providers. Findings from NIDA CTN multisite studies are uniquely positioned to characterize reach and provide information on ways health systems may leverage novel interventions to expand treatment capacity for vulnerable patient populations.…”

Decision support in addiction: The development of an e-health tool to assess and prevent risk of fatal overdose. The ORION Project

“…A number of researchers have explored the role that information and communication technologies may play in the delivery of evidence-based behavioural interventions in improving the effectiveness, costPage 5 of 37 effectiveness, and reach of efforts to assess, treat, and support the recovery management of substance use disorders and other risk behaviours [32][33][34][35][36]. Few have explored the extent of utilization of communication technology by patients enrolled in substance abuse services [37]. Overall most decision aids did not explore risk perception and in some there are concerns about the completeness, balance and accuracy of information included [38].…”