Frontiers in Public Health (Oct 2015)
Behaviour change techniques used in digital interventions to reduce excessive alcohol consumption
Abstract
Background: Excessive alcohol consumption is a leading contributor to the global burden of disease. A large number of digital interventions have been developed to help people reduce their consumption. Coding interventions to assess the behaviour change techniques (BCTs) they contain may advance understanding of the active ingredients that contribute to intervention effectiveness. Aim: To assess the extent to which BCTs are included in digital interventions to reduce alcohol consumption. Methods: A search of databases including MEDLINE, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Library identified 53 interventions to reduce alcohol consumption evaluated in RCTs. Intervention content was coded for BCTs according to the BCT Taxonomy (v1) using an established method. Results: There were 72 experimental arms in the 53 included studies. The most frequently used BCTs were: ‘Feedback on behaviour’ (70.8%, n=51), ‘Social comparison’ (68.1%, n=49), ‘Feedback on outcomes of behaviour (52.8%, n=38), ‘Social support’ (52.8%, n=38), and ‘Information about social and environmental consequences’ (50.0%, n=36). Of the ninety-three possible BCTs that could have been used, 15 were used in more than 20% of arms, 53 were used at least once and 40 were never used. The mean number of BCTs used was 7.8 (SD=5.6). Conclusions: Digital alcohol interventions have used a broad range of BCTs. However, many BCTs were used infrequently and the evaluations have not been set up to evaluate the effectiveness of individual BCTs or clusters of BCTs.
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