title: Online Alcohol Assessment and Feedback for Hazardous and Harmful Drinkers: Findings From the AMADEUS-2 Randomized Controlled Trial of Routine Practice in Swedish Universities.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous research on the effectiveness of online alcohol interventions for college students has shown mixed results. Small benefits have been found in some studies and because online interventions are inexpensive and possible to implement on a large scale, there is a need for further study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study evaluated the effectiveness of national provision of a brief online alcohol intervention for students in Sweden.
  
  
  METHODS
  Risky drinkers at 9 colleges and universities in Sweden were invited by mail and identified using a single screening question. These students (N=1605) gave consent and were randomized into a 2-arm parallel group randomized controlled trial consisting of immediate or delayed access to a fully automated online assessment and intervention with personalized feedback.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 2 months, there was no strong evidence of effectiveness with no statistically significant differences in the planned analyses, although there were some indication of possible benefit in sensitivity analyses suggesting an intervention effect of a 10% reduction (95% CI -30% to 10%) in total weekly alcohol consumption. Also, differences in effect sizes between universities were seen with participants from a major university (n=365) reducing their weekly alcohol consumption by 14% (95% CI -23% to -4%). However, lower recruitment than planned and differential attrition in the intervention and control group (49% vs 68%) complicated interpretation of the outcome data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Any effects of current national provision are likely to be small and further research and development work is needed to enhance effectiveness.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN): 02335307; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN02335307 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6ZdPUh0R4).
authors.affiliation: Medical Faculty, Department of Medical Specialist and Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Motala, Linköping, Sweden. preben.bendtsen@liu.se.
authors.forename: Preben
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5913-2903
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bendtsen
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8678-1164
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bendtsen
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0279-5903
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.forename: Ian R
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6718-7661
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Jim
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5461-7001
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McCambridge
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D034742:Electronic Mail; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D018570:Risk Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D014495:Universities
keywords: Internet; alcohol drinking; behavior therapy; electronic mail, feedback; students