Continuity of care among alcohol dependent patients via mobile phone SMS (CAPS)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Michael J. Lucht
• Subject Area: Clinical Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Term: from 2011 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 175225096

Continuity of care is a main prerequisite for the improvement of treatment of alcohol dependent patients.One cost-effective element of outpatient care might be the keeping of contacts with patients using mobile phone short message service (SMS). In this open multicenter randomized controlled trial we will test the efficacy of a 12-months standardized outpatient interactive mobile phone SMS intervention to increase abstinence and non-hazardous drinking rates against treatment as usual (TAU) after inpatient alcohol detoxification in four psychiatric hospitals. In total, 462 inpatients will be included in the study. SMS messages include regular replies from each patient about whether he/she is feeling well or needs help. In the latter case the therapist calls them back. The primary endpoint is an ordered categorical variable reflecting abstinence vs non-hazardous drinking vs hazardous drinking in months 10 to 12 of follow-up. Follow-ups will take place at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after randomisation. Work done before includes a pilot study. The data revealed an excellent feasibility of the SMS intervention, a low attrition rate and reduction in consumption parameters compared with pre-study assessment results. A positive result of the SMSintervention as outlined here would suggest the use of a treatment tool at very low costs utilizing existing communication devices.

• DFG Programme: Clinical Trials
• Participating Persons: Professor Dr. Harald Jürgen Freyberger (†); Professor Dr. Ulrich John