title: HealthCall for the smartphone: technology enhancement of brief intervention in HIV alcohol dependent patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Heavy drinking jeopardizes the health of patients in HIV primary care. In alcohol dependent patients in HIV primary care, a technological enhancement of brief intervention, HealthCall administered via interactive voice response (HealthCall-IVR) was effective at reducing heavy drinking. The smartphone offered a technology platform to improve HealthCall.
  
  
  METHODS
  Working with input from patients, technology experts, and HIV clinic personnel, we further developed HealthCall, harnessing smartphone technological capacities (HealthCall-S). In a pilot study, we compared rates of HealthCall-S daily use and drinking outcomes in 41 alcohol dependent HIV-infected patients with the 43 alcohol dependent HIV-infected patients who used HealthCall-IVR in our previous efficacy study. Procedures, clinic, personnel, and measures were largely the same in the two studies, and the two groups of patients were demographically similar (~90% minority).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pilot patients used HealthCall-S a median of 85.0% of the 60 days of treatment, significantly greater than the corresponding rate (63.8%) among comparison patients using HealthCall-IVR (p < .001). Mean end-of-treatment drinks per drinking day was similar in the two groups. Patients were highly satisfied with HealthCall-S (i.e., 92% reported that they liked using HealthCall-S).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among alcohol dependent patients in HIV primary care, HealthCall delivered via smartphone is feasible, obtains better patient engagement than HealthCall-IVR, and is associated with decreased drinking. In HIV primary care settings, HealthCall-S may offer a way to improve drinking outcomes after brief intervention by extending patient engagement with little additional demands on staff time.
authors.affiliation: New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY 10032, USA. dsh2@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Deborah S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Hasin
authors.forename: Efrat
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aharonovich
authors.forename: Eliana
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Greenstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D040421:Cell Phone; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D063731:Mobile Applications; D062405:Motivational Interviewing; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief; D012648:Self Care; D012984:Software; D013695:Temperance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data