TY - JOUR
T1 - Smartphone-based alcohol interventions
T2 - A systematic review on the role of notifications in changing behaviors toward alcohol
AU - Williamson, Charlotte
AU - White, Katie
AU - Rona, Roberto
AU - Simms, Amos
AU - Fear, Nicola
AU - Goodwin, Laura
AU - Murphy, Dominic
AU - Leightley, Daniel
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was funded by the Forces in Mind Trust [Project number: FIMT/0323KCL], a funding scheme run by the Forces in Mind Trust using an endowment awarded by the National Lottery Community Fund. The funding organization had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
Funding Information:
NTF is partly funded by the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence and a trustee of a charity supporting the wellbeing of the UK Armed Forces community. DL is partly funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Center. DM is a trustee for the Forces in Mind Trust (FIMT: the project funder). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, the FiMT or the UK Ministry of Defence.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 AMERSA, Inc.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Background: Smartphone-based interventions are increasingly being used to facilitate positive behavior change, including reducing alcohol consumption. However, less is known about the effects of notifications to support this change, including intervention engagement and adherence. The aim of this review was to assess the role of notifications in smartphone-based interventions designed to support, manage, or reduce alcohol consumption. Methods: Five electronic databases were searched to identify studies meeting inclusion criteria: (1) studies using a smartphone-based alcohol intervention, (2) the intervention used notifications, and (3) published between 1st January 2007 and 30th April 2021 in English. PROSPERO was searched to identify any completed, ongoing, or planned systematic reviews and meta-analyses of relevance. The reference lists of all included studies were searched. Results: Overall, 14 papers were identified, reporting on 10 different interventions. The strength of the evidence regarding the role and utility of notifications in changing behavior toward alcohol of the reviewed interventions was inconclusive. Only one study drew distinct conclusions about the relationships between notifications and app engagement, and notifications and behavior change. Conclusions: Although there are many smartphone-based interventions to support alcohol reduction, this review highlights a lack of evidence to support the use of notifications (such as push notifications, alerts, prompts, and nudges) used within smartphone interventions for alcohol management aiming to promote positive behavior change. Included studies were limited due to small sample sizes and insufficient follow-up. Evidence for the benefits of smartphone-based alcohol interventions remains promising, but the efficacy of using notifications, especially personalized notifications, within these interventions remain unproven.
AB - Background: Smartphone-based interventions are increasingly being used to facilitate positive behavior change, including reducing alcohol consumption. However, less is known about the effects of notifications to support this change, including intervention engagement and adherence. The aim of this review was to assess the role of notifications in smartphone-based interventions designed to support, manage, or reduce alcohol consumption. Methods: Five electronic databases were searched to identify studies meeting inclusion criteria: (1) studies using a smartphone-based alcohol intervention, (2) the intervention used notifications, and (3) published between 1st January 2007 and 30th April 2021 in English. PROSPERO was searched to identify any completed, ongoing, or planned systematic reviews and meta-analyses of relevance. The reference lists of all included studies were searched. Results: Overall, 14 papers were identified, reporting on 10 different interventions. The strength of the evidence regarding the role and utility of notifications in changing behavior toward alcohol of the reviewed interventions was inconclusive. Only one study drew distinct conclusions about the relationships between notifications and app engagement, and notifications and behavior change. Conclusions: Although there are many smartphone-based interventions to support alcohol reduction, this review highlights a lack of evidence to support the use of notifications (such as push notifications, alerts, prompts, and nudges) used within smartphone interventions for alcohol management aiming to promote positive behavior change. Included studies were limited due to small sample sizes and insufficient follow-up. Evidence for the benefits of smartphone-based alcohol interventions remains promising, but the efficacy of using notifications, especially personalized notifications, within these interventions remain unproven.
KW - Smartphone app
KW - Intervention
KW - alcohol
KW - notifications
KW - brief alcohol intervention
KW - Systematic Review
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85131382660&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1080/08897077.2022.2074595
DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/08897077.2022.2074595
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85131382660
SN - 0889-7077
VL - 43
SP - 1231
EP - 1244
JO - Substance Abuse
JF - Substance Abuse
IS - 1
ER -
