Ready2Change: Preliminary effectiveness of a telephone‐delivered intervention program for alcohol, methamphetamine and cannabis use problems

Abstract

Introduction. Telehealth has considerable potential to overcome many of the barriers to accessing care for substance use problems, thereby increasing the opportunity for earlier intervention. The Ready2Change program is a multiple-session outbound telephone-delivered cognitive and behavioural intervention for mild-to-moderate substance use disorders, embedded within a long-established 24/7 alcohol and drug helpline. We sought to analyse routinely collected program data in a preliminary study to examine the effectiveness of Ready2Change in reducing substance use problem severity and psychological distress. Methods. A retrospective analysis of program data from December 2013 to June 2018 was performed. Analysed cases were 249 clients living in Victoria, Australia with alcohol (n = 191), methamphetamine (n = 40) or cannabis (n = 18) as their primary drug of concern. A within-subjects design was used to examine pre-and post-intervention substance use problem severity and psychological distress. Results. For alcohol cases, there was a statistically significant decrease in alcohol problem severity [AUDIT, mean difference = À12.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) À14.0, À11.5]. Statistically significant reductions in drug problem severity (DUDIT) were observed for methamphetamine (mean difference = À17.3, 95% CI À20.9, À13.7) and cannabis (mean difference = À15.9, 95% CI À22.3, À9.6) cases. All groups showed reductions in problem severity for other substances used (P < 0.05) and psychological distress (P < 0.001). Discussion and Conclusions. Results suggest Ready2Change benefits clients with alcohol, methamphetamine and cannabis use problems, with the potential to improve treatment access for health inequity groups including those living in remote areas. These findings warrant further investigation into the effectiveness of this program.

A structured, telephone-delivered intervention to reduce methamphetamine use: Study protocol for a parallel group randomised controlled trial

“…Turning Point operates multiple helplines across several jurisdictions (> 100,000 contacts per annum), as well as two national online counselling services (> 1 million page views per annum). Turning Point (in collaboration with Monash and Deakin Universities) supported the development of the R2C program, and has tested its bene ts among individuals with alcohol, methamphetamine and cannabis use problems by way of two non-controlled studies (20,24), and a controlled trial of effectiveness among people with alcohol use disorder (42,43).…”

“…Current research on the bene ts of telephone-delivered interventions for smoking cessation (22), alcohol use disorder (19,20,23,24), and some illicit drug use disorders (e.g., cocaine, cannabis) supports continued exploration into telephone delivered alcohol and other drug (AOD) interventions. (21).…”

Applications of technology in the assessment and treatment of cannabis use disorder

“…Prescribers quickly adapted to the new environment in utilizing home-based telehealth as a primary means of providing treatment. This means of providing treatment is likely to continue to be a mainstay option for patients to access specialized treatment for CUD, as both providers and patients find it satisfying and convenient ( 49 , 50 ).…”

A Latent Class Analysis of Perceived Barriers to Help-seeking Among People with Alcohol Use Problems Presenting for Telephone-delivered Treatment

“…Yet, until now they have been underutilized in substance use populations ( Lin et al ., 2019 ), other than for promoting smoking cessation ( Stead et al ., 2013 ). An emerging body of literature provides evidence for the benefits of telephone-delivered interventions for alcohol use problems ( Heinemans et al ., 2014 ; Gates and Albertella, 2016 ; Grigg et al ., 2022 ); telephone-delivered interventions have been shown to be comparable to in-person treatment in reducing alcohol consumption ( Gates and Albertella, 2016 ), enable experiences of therapeutic alliance and rapport building ( Bernard et al ., 2020 ), and there is growing evidence that they are filling a gap in service provision for health inequity groups (e.g. women, people living in regional and remote areas) ( Grigg et al ., 2022 ).…”

“…An emerging body of literature provides evidence for the benefits of telephone-delivered interventions for alcohol use problems ( Heinemans et al ., 2014 ; Gates and Albertella, 2016 ; Grigg et al ., 2022 ); telephone-delivered interventions have been shown to be comparable to in-person treatment in reducing alcohol consumption ( Gates and Albertella, 2016 ), enable experiences of therapeutic alliance and rapport building ( Bernard et al ., 2020 ), and there is growing evidence that they are filling a gap in service provision for health inequity groups (e.g. women, people living in regional and remote areas) ( Grigg et al ., 2022 ). However, no known studies have formally investigated the barriers to help-seeking experienced by individuals accessing alcohol treatment via this platform, or whether these more accessible services are engaging people earlier in their treatment trajectories.…”