Supporting Women in the UK Armed Forces Who Consume Alcohol at an Increased Risk: Refining the DrinksRation Platform

Summary

Alcohol misuse is common in the Armed Forces (AF), with prevalence higher than in the general population. To date, initiatives to support alcohol misuse have focused on males, who represent \~90% of the AF. However, female veterans drink disproportionally more than female members of the public. In this study, the investigators will refine and evaluate DrinksRation - the only automated brief digital intervention supporting the United Kingdom (UK) Armed Forces to manage and reduce the amount they drink - to tailor the intervention to the specific needs of female veterans. The changes will then be assessed using a confirmatory Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT), which includes a minimum of 148 (74 in each arm) female veterans (to be recruited).

Conditions

• Alcohol Abuse
• Alcohol Drinking
• Alcohol Use Disorder

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

DrinksRation

DrinksRation (www.drinksration.app; formerly called InDEx) app was developed following the Medical Research Council Complex Intervention Guidelines and using a co-design methodology. It was developed by the King's Centre for Military Health Research (King's College London) and Lancaster University, supported by experts in smartphone app development, epidemiology, addiction psychiatry, and military mental health. The app was designed to support veterans drinking at a hazardous or harmful level by providing bespoke advice and support.

BEHAVIORAL

BeAlcoholSmart

BeAlcoholSmart is a progressive web app (PWA). The app can take advantage of smartphone features such as push notifications and haptics without requiring the participant to download via an app store. The app will contain a 7-day alcohol unit calculator and generic public health guidance on safe drinking. Participants will also receive reminders via email prompting them to consult the guidance as part of the BeAlcoholSmart. Control participant participants will be invited to complete all questionnaires via Qualtrics, with an email reminder being sent when they are due.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Lancaster University

  collaborator OTHER

• Combat Stress

  collaborator OTHER

• Swansea University

  collaborator OTHER

• UK British Army

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• King's College London

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-09-01

Primary Completion

2024-03-31

Completion

2024-08-31

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations