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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05235971

Behavioral Economic Treatment to Enhance Rural (BETTER) Living

The purpose of this trial is to get feedback to help develop programs delivered by phone and text messages to improve wellness and health behaviors. This study will enroll adult participants that have been seen in primary care settings and live in rurally designated areas.

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Key information

Conditions

Alcohol Use, Unspecified Alcohol Drinking Behavior Drinking Behavior

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States

About this study

This study will evaluate acceptability and feasibility of two remotely-delivered behavioral economic intervention components, alone and in combination, using remote text message delivery. The two intervention components are an episodic future thinking component and a volitional choice component. The goal of this work is to develop and determine acceptability and feasibility of a well-specified, accessible, and theory-driven mobile health intervention to reduce harmful alcohol use in people living in rural regions.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Screening Inclusion Criteria:

  • adults presenting in Michigan Medicine primary care
  • home address in a rurally designated area (e.g., zip code, county),
  • documented alcohol use in the Electronic Health Record (EHR) (e.g., alcohol use disorder diagnosis, alcohol misuse or heavy alcohol consumption).

Baseline inclusion criteria:

  • an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) score of ≥3 in females or ≥4 in males
  • regular access to an internet-enabled device (e.g., smart phone, computer, tablet).

Exclusion criteria

  • Does not understand English
  • currently pregnant
  • unable to provide informed consent due to medical/psychiatric reasons
  • currently in treatment for a substance use disorder.

Treatment and study plan

Episodic Future Thinking

Behavioral

During a visit with the study team, participants will identify personally-relevant reminders, or cues, that they will receive up to 3 messages a day via text-message over a two-week period.

The messages will describe positive, non-alcohol related events at future time points to facilitate extension of temporal consideration toward future-focused perspectives.

In addition, participants will have phone meetings (video or not) where health behaviors as well as survey information is noted and collected

Volitional choice

Behavioral

Volitional choice creates structured if-then plans to dismantle context-linked alcohol use The messages sent over a two-week period facilitate alternative, healthier choices by identifying and linking risky cues with alternative actions. Participants will receive up to 3 messages a day for 14 days that include assessment and intervention messages.

In addition, participants will have phone meetings (video or not) where health behaviors as well as survey information is noted and collected.

Monitoring only

Behavioral

Participants will receive general psychoeducation about alcohol use, mental health, resources, and a description of the assessments to be completed over a two-week field testing period.

In addition, participants will have phone meetings (video or not) where health behaviors as well as survey information is noted and collected.

Primary outcomes

  1. Feasibility of the Intervention - Screening

    Time frame: Day 1 of Intervention

    Percent of participants who complete intervention phone call

  2. Feasibility of the Intervention - Enrollment

    Time frame: Day 1 of Intervention

    Percent of participants who elect to receive text messages

  3. Intervention Acceptability: Number of Participants Who Rated the Intervention as Acceptable

    Time frame: 2 Weeks Post-Intervention

    Number of participants with positive acceptability ratings who indicated enjoying the intervention at least a little bit. In a phone survey, participants were asked to rate their enjoyment of the intervention on a scale of 1-5, where 1 was "not at all" and 5 was "extremely". Scores of 2 ("a little bit") or more were considered to be positive indicators of acceptability.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Alcohol Consumption

    Time frame: The 2 weeks (14-days) of the intervention period

    Average number of standard drinks consumed during the 2-week intervention period per person. A "standard drink" was considered to be 12 oz beer, 1.5 ounce shot of liquor, or 5 oz glass of wine.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Michigan

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Registry information

Official study title

Behavioral Economic Treatment to Enhance Rural Living

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Feb 11, 2022
Registry last updated
Mar 26, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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