We Can Do This: A web-based therapeutic program for reducing methamphetamine use -amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: Findings from a wait-list control, randomised trial (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Digital interventions can help to overcome barriers to care including stigma, geographical distance and a lack of culturally appropriate treatment options. We Can Do This was a web-app designed with input from cultural advisors and end-users to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people seeking to stop or reduce their use of methamphetamine and increase psychosocial wellbeing. OBJECTIVE We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the web-app via a wait-list control, randomised trial METHODS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 16 or over who self-identified as having used methamphetamine weekly for the past three months were invited to participate online. Following a baseline survey, participants were randomised to either the intervention group, who could access the web-app for six weeks, or the control group, who received harm-minimisation material. Participants repeated the survey at one, two and three months post-baseline. We hypothesized that the intervention group would have significantly reduced frequency of use at three-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes included help-seeking, psychosocial distress and days spent out of usual role due to methamphetamine use. RESULTS Participants at baseline were 210 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander men and women aged 16 or over. Methamphetamine use declined significantly in all participants who completed three-month follow-up, however there were no significant differences between intervention and control groups on the primary or secondary outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Drop out and a lack of sustained engagement hindered our ability to evaluate the effectiveness of the web-app. Nonetheless, the trial gleaned some useful lessons relating to recruitment and engagement in web-apps. CLINICALTRIAL Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12619000134123p; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=376088&isReview=true INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.2196/14084