Computer-based Prescription Opioid Abuse Prevention for Adolescents

Summary

The investigators are developing an interactive, web-based program for youth ages 12-17 focused on the prevention of prescription opioid abuse because to the investigators knowledge, no science-based, interactive program focused on the prevention of prescription opioid abuse among youth exists. This program is grounded in a scientific understanding of risk factors for prescription opioid abuse among youth, employs informational technologies which are effective in promoting relevant knowledge and skills, and presents program content using strategies shown to be highly appealing to adolescents. In the completed Phase 1 of this project, the investigators developed and demonstrated the scientific, technical and commercial merit and feasibility of a prototype of a web-based, prescription opioid abuse prevention program for youth. In Phase 2, the investigators will complete the development of all components of the multimedia, prescription opioid abuse prevention program and conduct a randomized, controlled trial with youth to evaluate the effectiveness of the web-based prevention intervention in increasing knowledge about key issues relevant to prescription opioid abuse among youth, skills acquisition relevant to preventing their misuse, negative attitudes about prescription opioid misuse, and perceived risk associated with their misuse. The investigators will also assess the program's effectiveness in reducing intentions to misuse prescription opioids. If this tool is shown to be effective, the investigators plan to embed it in a suite of science-based, technology-delivered tools focused on the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders that have been developed and deployed in a wide array of settings by the investigative team.

Conditions

• Opioid Related Disorders

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Web-based prescription opioid prevention for adolescents

The intervention focuses on individual skills factors (e.g., promoting accurate knowledge about risks), as well as peer and societal influences on prescription opioid abuse (e.g., training skills to refuse offers to misuse opioids). When accessing the program, users see pictures of youth who have been in treatment for opioid dependence, and may choose to click on links to: 1) listen to or read real stories of problematic involvement with prescription opioids, 2) view youth' trajectories of important decision points related to prescription opioid misuse, 3) view videos that provide key information or teaches a skill that might help a young person make healthier choices (e.g., refusing offers to misuse prescription opioids), 4) or take quizzes to assess information/skill acquisition.

BEHAVIORAL

JustThinkTwice.gov website (DEA)

The JustThinkTwice.com website is educational (a large percentage of the website content focuses on opioids) with a menu including: Drug Information, True Stories (of youth who have lost their lives to drugs), Consequences, Facts/Statistics, Videos (e.g., the Life of an Opiate Addict, and Synthetic Drugs), and a brief Quiz.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Lisa A Marsch, PhD · Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, Psychiatric Research Center, Dartmouth College

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

12 Years

Max Age

17 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-05-15

Primary Completion

2018-03-18

Completion

2018-09-18

Countries

• United States

Study Locations