title: Web-based self-help intervention reduces alcohol consumption in both heavy-drinking and dependent alcohol users: A pilot study.
abstract: As part of a multicenter project supported by the World Health Organization, we developed a web-based intervention to reduce alcohol use and related problems. We evaluated the predictors of adherence to, and the outcomes of the intervention. Success was defined as a reduction in consumption to low risk levels or to <50% of the baseline levels of number of drinks. From the 32,401 people who accessed the site, 3389 registered and 929 completed the full Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), a necessary condition to be considered eligible to take part in the intervention. Based on their AUDIT scores, these participants were classified into: low risk users (LRU; n=319) harmful/hazardous users (HHU; n=298) or suggestive of dependence users (SDU; n=312). 29.1% of the registered users (LRU=42; HHU=90; SDU=82) completed the evaluation form at the end of the six-week period, and 63.5% reported low-risk drinking levels. We observed a significant reduction in alcohol consumption in the HHU (62.5%) and SDU (64.5%) groups in relation to baseline. One month after the intervention, in the follow-up, 94 users filled out the evaluation form, and their rate of success was similar to the one observed in the previous evaluation. Logistic regression analyses indicated that HHU participants presented higher adherence than LRU. Despite a relatively low adherence to the program, its good outcomes and low cost, as well as the high number of people that can be reached by a web-based intervention, suggest it has good cost-effectiveness.
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Dependência de Drogas, Departamento de Psicobiologia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: andremonezi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: André Luiz Monezi
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacologia, Setor de Ciências Biológicas, Centro Politécnico Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil. Electronic address: boerngen@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Roseli Boerngen
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: de Lacerda
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicologia, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil. Electronic address: henriquepgomide@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Henrique Pinto
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Gomide
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicologia, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil. Electronic address: tm.ronzani@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Telmo Mota
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Ronzani
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicologia, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil. Electronic address: laisa.sartes@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Laisa Marcorela Andreoli
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Sartes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicologia, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil. Electronic address: leomartinsjf@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Leonardo Fernandes
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Dependência de Drogas, Departamento de Psicobiologia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: andrebedendo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bedendo
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Dependência de Drogas, Departamento de Psicobiologia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: mlosformigoni@unifesp.br.
authors.forename: Maria Lucia Oliveira
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Souza-Formigoni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000628:therapy*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000628:therapy*; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Alcohol self-help program; Effectiveness; Web-based intervention