HealthCall: A randomized trial assessing a smartphone enhancement of brief interventions to reduce heavy drinking in HIV care.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Heavy drinking among people living with HIV (PLWH) worsens their health outcomes and disrupts their HIV care. Although brief interventions to reduce heavy drinking in primary care are effective, more extensive intervention may be needed in PLWH with moderate-to-severe alcohol use disorder. Lengthy interventions are not feasible in most HIV primary care settings, and patients seldom follow referrals to outside treatment. Utilizing visual and video features of smartphone technology, we developed the "HealthCall" app to provide continued engagement after brief intervention, reduce drinking, and improve other aspects of HIV care with minimal demands on providers. We conducted a randomized trial of its efficacy.

Methods

The study recruited alcohol-dependent PLWH (n =

SUBMITTER: Hasin DS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9167215 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature