Evaluating the (cost-)effectiveness of guided and unguided Internet-based self-help for problematic alcohol use in employees - a three arm randomized controlled trial

BMC Public Health

Study Protocol

David Daniel Ebert¹  Matthias Berking¹  Heleen Riper²  Dirk Lehr²  Leif Boß²  Michael Patrick Schaub³ 

[1] Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen Nuremberg, Nägelsbachstraße 25a, D-90503, Erlangen, Germany;Division of Health Training Online, Innovation Incubator, Leuphana University Lueneburg, Rotenbleicherweg 67, D-21335, Lueneburg, Germany;Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction, University of Zurich, Konradstrasse 32, CH-8031, Zürich, Switzerland;

关键词: Internet intervention;    Alcohol;    Work-related stress;    Occupational health;    Cost-effectiveness;    Self-help;    Problematic alcohol use;    Alcohol use disorders;    Randomized controlled trial;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-015-2375-0

 received in 2015-07-01, accepted in 2015-10-02,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundProblematic alcohol consumption is associated with a high disease burden for affected individuals and has a detrimental impact on companies and society due to direct and indirect health costs. This protocol describes a study design to evaluate the (cost)-effectiveness of a guided and unguided Internet-based self-help intervention for employees called “GET.ON Clever weniger trinken” (be smart – drink less) compared to a waiting list control group.MethodsIn a three-arm randomized controlled trial, 528 German adults who are currently members of the workforce will be recruited by occupational health departments of major health insurance companies. Employees aged 18 and older displaying problematic drinking patterns (>21/14 drinks per week and an AUDIT score > 8/6 for men/women) will be randomly assigned to one of three following study conditions: 1. unguided web-based self-help for problematic drinking, 2. adherence-focused guided self-help, and 3. waiting list control. Self-report data will be collected at baseline (T1), 6 weeks (T2), and 6 months (T3) after randomization. The primary outcome will be the reduction of alcohol standard units during the 7 days prior to T2, using the Timeline Followback method. Cost-effectiveness analyses to determine direct and indirect costs will be conducted from the perspectives of employers and the society. Data will be analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis and per protocol.DiscussionThere is a need to identify effective low-threshold solutions to improve ill-health and reduce the negative economic consequences due to problematic alcohol drinking in workforces. If the proposed web-based intervention proves both to be efficacious and cost-effective, it may be a useful tool to increase utilization rates of interventions for problematic drinking in occupational settings.Trial RegistrationGerman Register of Clinical Studies (DRKS): DRKS00006105, date of registration: 2014-07-07.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Boß et al. 2015