Mobile application recovery support for patients with an alcohol use disorder. Acceptance, usability, and perceived helpfulness

Abstract

Introduction:

The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore the experiences of patients of abstinence-oriented treatment programs, who were using a mobile application (mWSPARCIE) after completing a 6-week inpatient treatment program, and to assess its role as a tool supporting the process of recovery initiated in the treatment facility.

Methods:

Telephone in-depth interviews were conducted after six months of application use among a convenience sample of former patients of the inpatient treatment (n = 33). Transcriptions of the interviews were analyzed and coded sentence-by-sentence. The coding procedure allowed researchers to establish the main analytical categories.

Results:

Most respondents did not install the application or did not use it despite installing it, due to individual preferences and needs as well as to technical limitations. However, two thirds of the respondents who downloaded the application, used it on a regular basis, and four out of five considered it helpful in their recovery process. The application was used primarily for self-observation, allowing subjects to monitor their abstinence as well as the frequency and intensity of their alcohol craving.

Conclusions:

Acceptance of mHealth is low among patients of abstinence-oriented treatment programs. Therefore, this is clearly not a solution for all patients, because of individual preferences and needs as well as technical and financial barriers. However for those who use it, the tested application was an attractive source of additional support, a tool to maintain the motivation to change and to monitor abstinence and craving during the six months following their completion of treatment.

Keywords:

• mHealth
• aftercare
• phone application feasibility
• alcohol treatment
• addiction recovery

Acknowledgements

The process of developing the application would be impossible without the support of nearly one hundred patients of ten Polish AUD treatment centers and addiction psychotherapy specialists: Anna Bakuła, Joanna Wawerska-Kuś and Agnieszka Żeljazkow. IT solutions: Random Forest (www.randomforest.pl).

Data availability statement

The data used and analyzed in this study are available from the corresponding author, or The State Agency for Prevention of Alcohol-Related Problems (PARPA), on reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

Authors have never received any direct or indirect financial support for their research activities from the alcohol, pharmaceutical, tobacco or food industries.

Funding

The research was supported by The State Agency for Prevention of Alcohol-Related Problems (PARPA) under the agreement 76/44/3.4.3/18/DEA for financing the task within the National Health Program 2016–2020 under the operational objective no.2 (Prevention and resolution of problems related to the use of psychoactive substances, behavioral addictions and other risky behaviours).