Feasibility and acceptability of a web-intervention to prevent alcohol and cannabis-impaired driving among adolescents in driver education.

Background: Adolescents increasingly view cannabis as a substance with limited harm. Their propensity to engage in risky driving, combined with their relative driving inexperience, places adolescents at heightened risk for harm resulting from impaired driving. Driver education provides an opportunity to help prevent and reduce these risks, yet few interventions address cannabis-impaired driving, especially impairment from simultaneous use of both cannabis and alcohol. Methods: We adapted a single-session primary care brief intervention (CHAT) for driver education programs. First, we conducted two focus groups with adolescents aged 15-17 years (n = 6; n = 5) enrolled in driver education programs. Their feedback was integrated into a prototype of an online intervention called webCHAT that focuses on preventing alcohol and cannabis-impaired driving. Next, we recruited a new sample of adolescents who user tested webCHAT (n = 8) and provided qualitative and survey feedback. We analyzed qualitative data using classic content analysis and grouped themes according to the feasibility and acceptability of webCHAT. Results: Participants suggested that webCHAT should have adolescent narrators in short, informal, and interactive videos. In satisfaction surveys (n = 8), 88% of participants would recommend webCHAT to a friend and 88% reported that they learned helpful skills regarding impaired driving. General acceptability was also reflected in interviews (n = 6; 100% would recommend the intervention to a friend, 100% indicated overall positive impressions, and 67% stated it was easy to use). Participants reported that it was helpful to learn about the negative effects of both cannabis and alcohol on driving behavior, voicing that webCHAT would help adolescents make more informed decisions. Conclusions: Soliciting adolescent perspectives is critical when developing interventions targeting cannabis use because of increasingly permissive attitudes and perceptions of minimal risk associated with use. The current study highlights how feedback can help increase both the feasibility and acceptability of interventions.

It takes a village: A pilot study of a group telehealth intervention for support persons affected by opioid use disorder.

INTRODUCTION: Opioid use disorder (OUD) has devastating effects on individuals, families, and communities. The Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) is a Support Person (SP)-focused intervention that aims to increase SPs' communication strategies, positive reinforcement/rewards, and social support. This pilot study, called eINSPIRE (INtegrating Support Persons Into REcovery), adapted CRAFT for delivery via group telehealth. The aims were to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of this intervention on patient buprenorphine retention and SP mental health. METHODS: The study recruited patients receiving buprenorphine treatment in a primary care setting across five community health centers with their SP (N = 100 dyads). SP participants were randomly assigned to receive usual care (UC) or the eINSPIRE intervention. We interviewed Patients and SPs at baseline and three months later. The study collected patient buprenorphine retention data from the electronic medical record three months post-baseline. RESULTS: About 88 % (656/742) of potentially eligible patients were able to nominate a SP and 69 % (100/145) of nominated SPs were eligible and consented to the study. eINSPIRE groups had low reach (25 % of SPs attended), but high exposure (M = 7 of 10 sessions attended) and acceptability (classes helped them with their patient's OUD). The proportion of eINSPIRE patients (68 %) and UC patients (53 %) retained on buprenorphine at follow-up were similar (p = 0.203). SPs in both conditions reported similar reductions in their depression, anxiety, and impairment symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary data suggest that eINSPIRE groups may not be feasible in primary care without further adaptations for this population. A future study with a larger sample size is needed to elucidate the observed distribution differences in buprenorphine retention. Future research should also explore methods to reduce barriers to SP session attendance to improve the reach of this evidence-based intervention.

Study protocol for a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial to reduce risky drinking among service members and their partners.

BACKGROUND: Military spouses and partners in relationships with a heavy drinking service member report high levels of mental health concerns and consequences, which are compounded when both partners drink heavily. Military spouses and partners -termed "concerned partners" (CPs)-may be an important gateway for motivating service members (SMs) to seek care. However, CPs may first need to reduce their own drinking and improve their communication to effectively support and encourage changes for their service member partner. Partners Connect is a web-based intervention aimed at improving communication and relationship quality and increasing SM help-seeking. METHODS: The current study design is a two-stage Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial (SMART) to develop an adaptive CP intervention to decrease CP drinking and increase SM help-seeking. CPs aged 18 and older (n = 408) will be recruited via social media and followed for six months. In stage one, we will randomize CPs to either a 4-session web-based intervention (Partners Connect) or to receive communication resources from the Gottman Institute website. The goal is to have CPs invite their SM to complete an online personalized normative feedback (PNF) session. If their SM completes the PNF at stage one, CPs will be considered "responders," if the SM does not complete, CPs who are "non-responders" will be re-randomized during stage two to receive either (1) a CRAFT workbook or (2) phone-based CRAFT if in Partners Connect; or (1) Partners Connect or (2) a CRAFT workbook if in Gottman. DISCUSSION: By first intervening with the service member's CP, we aim to better equip them to engage their service member partner in treatment services. In doing so, we develop a model that increases treatment accessibility and appeal among a group that may not otherwise seek care. CLINICALTRIALS: gov Identifier: NCT05619185.

Study design to evaluate a web-intervention to prevent alcohol and cannabis-impaired driving and use among adolescents in driver education.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol and cannabis are the most commonly used substances among adolescents in the U.S. The consequences related to using both substances together are significantly higher relative to use of either substance alone. Teens' propensity to engage in risky driving behaviors (e.g., speeding, rapid lane changes, and texting) and their relative inexperience with the timing and duration of cannabis' effects puts them at heightened risk for experiencing harms related to driving under the influence. Use of alcohol and cannabis peak at age 16, the legal age teens may apply for a provisional driver's license in some states. Targeting novice teen drivers prior to licensure is thus an ideal time for prevention efforts focused on reducing alcohol and/or cannabis initiation, use, and impaired driving. METHODS: The current study proposes to evaluate the efficacy of webCHAT among 15.5 to 17-year-old adolescents (n = 150) recruited at driver education programs. WebCHAT is a single session online intervention that aims to prevent alcohol and cannabis use and risky driving behaviors. We will recruit adolescents enrolled in driver education programs, and stratify based on whether they used cannabis and/or alcohol in the past 3 months (60% screening negative and 40% screening positive). All participants will receive usual driver education and half will also receive webCHAT. We will test whether webCHAT in addition to usual driver education reduces alcohol and/or cannabis initiation or use and reduces risky driving attitudes and behaviors (intent to drive after drinking/using, riding as a passenger with someone who drank/used) compared to teens in usual driver education over a 6-month period. We will also explore whether variables such as beliefs and perceived norms serve as explanatory mechanisms for our outcomes. DISCUSSION: The study has the potential to promote public welfare by decreasing adolescent initiation and use of cannabis and alcohol and reducing risky driving behaviors that can have substantial monetary, personal, and social costs. The study recruits adolescents who are at risk for substance use as well as those who are not and it is delivered remotely during a teachable moment when adolescents receive driver education. Trial registration This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov on July 13, 2021 (NCT04959461). https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04959461.

Translating Virtual Reality Cue Exposure Therapy for Binge Eating into a Real-World Setting: An Uncontrolled Pilot Study.

Binge-eating disorder (BED) and bulimia nervosa (BN) have adverse psychological and medical consequences. Innovative interventions, like the integration of virtual reality (VR) with cue-exposure therapy (VR-CET), enhance outcomes for refractory patients compared to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). Little is known about the feasibility and acceptability of translating VR-CET into real-world settings. To investigate this question, adults previously treated for BED or BN with at least one objective or subjective binge episode/week were recruited from an outpatient university eating disorder clinic to receive up to eight weekly one-hour VR-CET sessions. Eleven of 16 (68.8%) eligible patients were enrolled; nine (82%) completed treatment; and 82% (9/11) provided follow-up data 7.1 (SD = 2.12) months post-treatment. Overall, participant and therapist acceptability of VR-CET was high. Intent-to-treat objective binge episodes (OBEs) decreased significantly from 3.3 to 0.9/week (p < 0.001). Post-treatment OBE 7-day abstinence rate for completers was 56%, with 22% abstinent for 28 days at follow-up. Among participants purging at baseline, episodes decreased from a mean of one to zero/week, with 100% abstinence maintained at follow-up. The adoption of VR-CET into real-world clinic settings appears feasible and acceptable, with a preliminary signal of effectiveness. Findings, including some loss of treatment gains during follow-up may inform future treatment development.

Bringing Virtual Reality From Clinical Trials to Clinical Practice for the Treatment of Eating Disorders: An Example Using Virtual Reality Cue Exposure Therapy.

Novel treatment options for eating disorders (EDs) are critically needed to enhance treatment outcomes and reduce the rates of treatment dropouts. On average, only 50% of individuals receiving evidence-based care remit, whereas 24% drop out before treatment completion. One particularly promising direction involves integrating virtual reality (VR) with existing evidence-based treatments (EBTs) such as cue exposure therapy (CET). Across psychiatric disorders, VR-based interventions are demonstrating at least preliminary efficacy and noninferiority to traditional treatments. Furthermore, VR technology has become increasingly portable, resulting in improved acceptance, increased access, and reductions in cost. However, more efficient research processes may be needed to uncover the potential benefits of these rapid technological advances. This viewpoint paper reviews existing empirical support for integrating VR with EBTs (with a focus on its use with EDs) and proposes key next steps to more rapidly bring this innovative technology-based intervention into real-world clinic settings, as warranted. VR-CET for EDs is used to illustrate a suggested process for developing such treatment enhancements. We recommend following a deployment-focused model of intervention development and testing to enable rapid implementation of robust, practice-ready treatments. In addition, our review highlights the need for a comprehensive clinical protocol that supports clinicians and researchers in the implementation and testing of VR-CET and identifies key missing protocol components with rationale for their inclusion. Ultimately, this work may lead to a more complete understanding of the full potential of the applications and integrations of VR into mental health care globally.

Replication and extension of dietary adherence as a predictor of suboptimal weight-loss outcomes in postbariatric patients.

BACKGROUND: Sarwer et al. found that poor dietary adherence at 6 months postoperatively predicted lower weight loss. OBJECTIVES: To replicate and extend these findings. SETTING: University bariatric clinic. METHODS: Fifty-four adults (72% female; age 51.1 ± 11.3 yr; mean body mass index [BMI] = 43.8 ± 7.4 kg/m2; 53.7% = Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, 42.6% = laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, and 3.7% = gastric banding) were identified as low or high dietary adherers following the method of Sarwer et al. Patients self-reported dietary adherence with a 9-point Likert scale. Splitting the group at the median, low adherers scored <7 and high dietary adherers ≥7. BMI, percentage excess weight loss (%EWL), and percentage total weight loss (%TWL) were prospectively assessed at 12, 24, and 36 months. Two-tailed independent t tests and Cohen's d effect sizes were used to compare between-group outcomes. RESULTS: BMI did not differ between low (n = 24) and high (n = 30) dietary adherers at 6 months after surgery. At 12 months, the BMI of low (n = 17) adheres was significantly higher (34.1 ± 4.61 versus 30.3 ± 3.90 kg/m2, P = .006, d = 0.90) than that of high (n = 25) adherers, with significantly less %EWL (49.0 ± 24% versus 70.7 ± 21.5%; P = .004; d = 0.95) and %TWL (20.7 ± 11.5% versus 28.9 ± 10.5, P = .02, d = 0.74). At 24 months, BMI remained significantly higher for low (n = 12) versus high (n = 10) adherers (33.7 ± 4.77 versus 29.7 ± 3.82 kg/m2, P = .045, d = 0.92), but %EWL and %TWL were not significantly different, despite large effect sizes. At 36 months, moderate effects supported continued higher BMIs and lower %EWL and %TWL for low (n = 5) versus high (n = 8) adherers. Attrition from follow-up was 22.2% (12 mo), 59.3% (24 mo), and 75.9% (36 mo). Post hoc analyses revealed no impact of baseline characteristics on low follow-up rates except younger age (at 1 yr). CONCLUSIONS: Findings that 6-month postoperative dietary adherence predicts 12-month BMI, %EWL, and %TWL were replicated. Medium to large effects suggest findings extend to 24 and 36 months, with low follow-up rates likely affecting statistical significance.