Bilal Noreen Khan, Cherry Chu, Janette Brual, Marlena Dang-Nguyen, Adetola Oladimeji, Altea Kthupi, Blanca Bolea-Alamañac, Mina Tadrous, Anne O'Riordan, Donna Rubenstein, Kathleen Carlin, Philip Longum, Daryn Gibson, Ibukun-Oluwa Omolade Abejirinde
{"title":"An Observational Study of a Digital Substance Use and Recovery Program.","authors":"Bilal Noreen Khan, Cherry Chu, Janette Brual, Marlena Dang-Nguyen, Adetola Oladimeji, Altea Kthupi, Blanca Bolea-Alamañac, Mina Tadrous, Anne O'Riordan, Donna Rubenstein, Kathleen Carlin, Philip Longum, Daryn Gibson, Ibukun-Oluwa Omolade Abejirinde","doi":"10.1176/appi.ps.20230427","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Digital substance use treatment programs present an opportunity to provide nonresidential care for people with problematic substance use. In June 2021, the provincial government in Ontario provided free access to Breaking Free Online (BFO), a digital behavioral change program for people with substance use disorders.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An observational study was conducted with retrospective data to characterize clients' use and engagement patterns in BFO and examine changes in self-reported outcomes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 6,370 individuals registered for BFO between June 2021 and October 2022, of whom 3,650 completed the intake assessment. Most of these clients were self-referred (64%), with 37% having been referred by health service providers. More than one-half of the clients (52%) resided in Ontario West or East regions. Support for addressing problematic alcohol use was the most requested program (40%). By October 2022, about 44% of the clients had completed between one and four of 12 program strategies. Analysis revealed significant changes in pre-post scores across four validated scales (p<0.001), indicating a decrease in anxiety and depression, an increase in quality of life, an improvement in recovery progression, and a decrease in severity of symptoms associated with substance use disorders.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>BFO clients with higher completion rates had the most improvement across the scales used; however, clients with lower and medium completion rates also had improvements. Because of the shame and stigma associated with substance use, digital supports with low barriers to entry can help support the autonomy, privacy, and preferences of individuals seeking help for problematic substance use.</p>","PeriodicalId":20878,"journal":{"name":"Psychiatric services","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychiatric services","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20230427","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: Digital substance use treatment programs present an opportunity to provide nonresidential care for people with problematic substance use. In June 2021, the provincial government in Ontario provided free access to Breaking Free Online (BFO), a digital behavioral change program for people with substance use disorders.
Methods: An observational study was conducted with retrospective data to characterize clients' use and engagement patterns in BFO and examine changes in self-reported outcomes.
Results: In total, 6,370 individuals registered for BFO between June 2021 and October 2022, of whom 3,650 completed the intake assessment. Most of these clients were self-referred (64%), with 37% having been referred by health service providers. More than one-half of the clients (52%) resided in Ontario West or East regions. Support for addressing problematic alcohol use was the most requested program (40%). By October 2022, about 44% of the clients had completed between one and four of 12 program strategies. Analysis revealed significant changes in pre-post scores across four validated scales (p<0.001), indicating a decrease in anxiety and depression, an increase in quality of life, an improvement in recovery progression, and a decrease in severity of symptoms associated with substance use disorders.
Conclusions: BFO clients with higher completion rates had the most improvement across the scales used; however, clients with lower and medium completion rates also had improvements. Because of the shame and stigma associated with substance use, digital supports with low barriers to entry can help support the autonomy, privacy, and preferences of individuals seeking help for problematic substance use.
期刊介绍：
Psychiatric Services, established in 1950, is published monthly by the American Psychiatric Association. The peer-reviewed journal features research reports on issues related to the delivery of mental health services, especially for people with serious mental illness in community-based treatment programs. Long known as an interdisciplinary journal, Psychiatric Services recognizes that provision of high-quality care involves collaboration among a variety of professionals, frequently working as a team. Authors of research reports published in the journal include psychiatrists, psychologists, pharmacists, nurses, social workers, drug and alcohol treatment counselors, economists, policy analysts, and professionals in related systems such as criminal justice and welfare systems. In the mental health field, the current focus on patient-centered, recovery-oriented care and on dissemination of evidence-based practices is transforming service delivery systems at all levels. Research published in Psychiatric Services contributes to this transformation.
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