Effect of a text message intervention to reduce hazardous drinking among injured patients discharged from a trauma ward: a randomized controlled trial

• Main Authors: Sarah Sharpe, Bridget Kool, Robyn Whittaker, Arier C. Lee, Papaarangi Reid, Ian Civil, Matthew Walker, Vanessa Thornton, Shanthi Ameratunga
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2018-05-01
• Series: npj Digital Medicine
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-018-0019-3

Mobile health text message intervention to reduce hazardous drinking Mobile phone text messages reduce dangerous patterns of alcohol consumption and could help prevent alcohol-related injuries. A trial carried out in New Zealand led by Sarah Sharpe at the University of Auckland examined the effect of sending 16 automated text messages over a four-week period to 299 adults discharged from hospital following an injury and identified as moderate risk hazardous drinkers. The messages, which encouraged patients to reduce their alcohol consumption and offered information on how to do so in an easy-to-understand and non-judgemental manner, reduced hazardous drinking throughout the 12-month follow-up period compared with a control group that received usual care. These findings suggest that text message interventions are an effective, low cost and easily scalable solution to curb harmful alcohol consumption.