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Behaviour change techniques used in digital behaviour change interventions to reduce excessive alcohol consumption: a meta-regression

Garnett, C; Crane, D; Brown, J; Kaner, E; Beyer, F; Muirhead, C; Hickman, M; ... Michie, S; + view all (2018) Behaviour change techniques used in digital behaviour change interventions to reduce excessive alcohol consumption: a meta-regression. Annals of Behavioral Medicine , 52 (6) pp. 530-543. 10.1093/abm/kax029. Green open access

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Abstract

Background: Digital behavior change interventions (DBCIs) appear to reduce alcohol consumption, but greater understanding is needed of their mechanisms of action. // Purpose: To describe the behavior change techniques (BCTs) used in DBCIs and examine whether individual BCTs, the inclusion of more BCTs or more Control Theory congruent BCTs is associated with increased effectiveness. // Methods: Forty-one randomized control trials were extracted from a Cochrane review of alcohol reduction DBCIs and coded for up to 93 BCTs using an established and reliable method. Random effects unadjusted and adjusted meta-regression models were performed to assess associations between BCTs and intervention effectiveness. // Results: Interventions used a mean of 9.1 BCTs (range 1–22), 23 different BCTs were used in four or more trials. Trials that used “Behavior substitution” (−95.112 grams per week [gpw], 95% CI: −162.90, −27.34), “Problem solving” (−45.92 gpw, 95% CI: −90.97, −0.87) and “Credible source” (−32.09 gpw, 95% CI: −60.64, −3.55) were significantly associated with greater alcohol reduction than trials without these BCTs. The “Behavior substitution” result should be treated as preliminary because it was reported in only four trials, three of which were conducted by the same research group. “Feedback” was used in 98% of trials (n = 41); other Control Theory congruent BCTs were used less frequently: for example, “Goal setting” 43% (n = 18) and “Self-monitoring” 29%, (n = 12). // Conclusions: “Behavior substitution,” “Problem solving,” and “Credible source” were associated with greater alcohol reduction. Many BCTs were used infrequently in DBCIs, including BCTs with evidence of effectiveness in other domains, such as “Self-monitoring” and “Goal setting.”

Type: Article
Title: Behaviour change techniques used in digital behaviour change interventions to reduce excessive alcohol consumption: a meta-regression
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1093/abm/kax029
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kax029
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © The Society of Behavioral Medicine 2018. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: Behavior change techniques, Alcohol, Drinking, Digital interventions, Meta-regression, Systematic review
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Behavioural Science and Health
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1571786
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