Contraception and Alcohol Risk Reduction Internet Intervention Randomized Trial

Overview

The goal of the proposed research is to develop and pilot test a novel Internet intervention to reduce the risk of Alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP). Efficacious interventions to reduce the risk of AEP have been developed, but are not widely available. In this project, we will develop a novel Internet intervention to reduce AEP risk by combining the resources of two research teams focused on primary prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and robust Internet interventions, respectively. We will use our evidence-based AEP risk reduction intervention materials and our existing Internet intervention development platform to build and pilot test an Internet intervention (Contraception and Alcohol Risk Reduction Internet Intervention, CARRIII) in a stage 1 behavioral and integrative therapies development project. This three year R34 project will develop and program the new Internet intervention, and will determine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the intervention in a pilot RCT. In this protocol, we will assess the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of CARRIII against a Patient Education Website condition in a pilot randomized clinical trial (RCT) with assessments at pre-, post-, and 6 months.The primary hypothesis is that women randomized to the CARRIII condition will change more in 3 markers of AEP-related outcomes (risky drinking, ineffective contraception, and AEP risk) than women assigned to the Patient Education website condition. We will prepare for a future cost effectiveness evaluation in the larger RCT to follow by pilot testing proposed measures. The pilot RCT will yield effect size estimates for a subsequent fully powered trial. If the Internet intervention is promising, it should be tested in a fully powered national trial. The Internet intervention could substantially increase the options for AEP prevention, and could lead to a reduction in incident FASD.

As the first study of a fully interactive Internet intervention for reducing AEP risk, the proposed project is a significant extension of the growing literature on Internet interventions to reduce problem drinking, which established their feasibility and acceptability, with evidence of efficacy especially in the university drinking setting. Most brief online interventions for problem drinking have incorporated self-assessment and tailored normative feedback, and some offer cognitive behavioral exercises. Only one web-based intervention to date targeted AEP risk. In that study, a static Internet presentation of AEP risk reduction intervention materials was compared to the same intervention delivered by mail in a quasi-experimental design. The web delivered and mailed versions of this self-guided change intervention significantly reduced AEP risk. The proposed intervention will build on this study as well as existing alcohol Internet intervention findings and extend the focus to a new population with a new goal (AEP prevention) by targeting both drinking AND ineffective contraception. It will also incorporate significant enhancements compared to the static web-based self-guided change intervention for AEP by adding dynamic, interactive, and feedback elements that mirror the interaction in successful face-to-face interventions.