[Internet-based alcohol interventions for college students: systematic reviewIntervenciones por Internet para reducir el consumo de alcohol de los estudiantes universitarios: revisión sistemática]

Digital interventions to moderate alcohol consumption in young people: a Cancer Prevention Europe overview of systematic reviews

Background

Strategies to reduce alcohol consumption would contribute to substantial health benefits in the population, including reducing cancer risk. The increasing accessibility and applicability of digital technologies make these powerful tools suitable to facilitate changes in behaviour in young people which could then translate into both immediate and long-term improvements to public health.

Objective

We conducted a review of systematic reviews to assess the available evidence on digital interventions aimed at reducing alcohol consumption in sub-populations of young people [school-aged children, college/university students, young adults only (over 18 years) and both adolescent and young adults (<25 years)].

Methods

Searches were conducted across relevant databases including KSR Evidence, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE). Records were independently screened by title and abstract and those that met inclusion criteria were obtained for full text screening by two reviewers. Risk of bias (RoB) was assessed with the ROBIS checklist. We employed a narrative analysis.

Results

Twenty-seven systematic reviews were included that addressed relevant interventions in one or more of the sub-populations, but those reviews were mostly assessed as low quality. Definitions of "digital intervention" greatly varied across systematic reviews. Available evidence was limited both by sub-population and type of intervention. No reviews reported cancer incidence or influence on cancer related outcomes. In school-aged children eHealth multiple health behaviour change interventions delivered through a variety of digital methods were not effective in preventing or reducing alcohol consumption with no effect on the prevalence of alcohol use [Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.13, 95% CI: 0.95-1.36, review rated low RoB, minimal heterogeneity]. While in adolescents and/or young adults who were identified as risky drinkers, the use of computer or mobile device-based interventions resulted in reduced alcohol consumption when comparing the digital intervention with no/minimal intervention (-13.4 g/week, 95% CI: -19.3 to -7.6, review rated low RoB, moderate to substantial heterogeneity).In University/College students, a range of E-interventions reduced the number of drinks consumed per week compared to assessment only controls although the overall effect was small [standardised mean difference (SMD): -0.15, 95% CI: -0.21 to -0.09]. Web-based personalised feedback interventions demonstrated a small to medium effect on alcohol consumption (SMD: -0.19, 95% CI: -0.27 to -0.11) (review rated high RoB, minimal heterogeneity). In risky drinkers, stand-alone Computerized interventions reduced short (SMD: -0.17, 95% CI: -0.27 to -0.08) and long term (SMD: -0.17, 95% CI: -0.30 to -0.04) alcohol consumption compared to no intervention, while a small effect (SMD: -0.15, 95% CI: -0.25 to -0.06) in favour of computerised assessment and feedback vs. assessment only was observed. No short-term (SMD: -0.10, 95% CI: -0.30 to 0.11) or long-term effect (SMD: -0.11, 95% CI: -0.53 to 0.32) was demonstrated for computerised brief interventions when compared to counsellor based interventions (review rated low RoB, minimal to considerable heterogeneity). In young adults and adolescents, SMS-based interventions did not significantly reduce the quantity of drinks per occasion from baseline (SMD: 0.28, 95% CI: -0.02 to 0.58) or the average number of standard glasses per week (SMD: -0.05, 95% CI: -0.15 to 0.05) but increased the risk of binge drinking episodes (OR = 2.45, 95% CI: 1.32-4.53, review rated high RoB; minimal to substantial heterogeneity). For all results, interpretation has limitations in terms of risk of bias and heterogeneity.

Conclusions

Limited evidence suggests some potential for digital interventions, particularly those with feedback, in reducing alcohol consumption in certain sub-populations of younger people. However, this effect is often small, inconsistent or diminishes when only methodologically robust evidence is considered. There is no systematic review evidence that digital interventions reduce cancer incidence through alcohol moderation in young people. To reduce alcohol consumption, a major cancer risk factor, further methodologically robust research is warranted to explore the full potential of digital interventions and to form the basis of evidence based public health initiatives.

Intervenciones de prevención sobre el consumo de alcohol en jóvenes universitarios

Introducción: La ingesta de alcohol está condicionada por aspectos individuales y culturales. Objetivo: Identificar el efecto de intervenciones realizadas en el contexto latinoamericano sobre pautas de consumo o factores de riesgo asociados al consumo de alcohol en jóvenes universitarios. Materiales y Métodos: Revisión sistemática a partir de la pregunta PICO, Se realizó búsqueda desde abril a agosto del 2020 en las bases de PubMed, CUIDEN, BVS, Scielo, Google Scholar y Repositorios Gubernamentales. Se utilizaron descriptores DeCS y MeSH, en español, inglés y portugués con los operadores AND y OR. Criterios de elegibilidad: estudios experimentales y cuasi experimentales publicados entre 2014 y 2020. Se obtuvieron 49 artículos, la lectura crítica permitió seleccionar 8 a los cuales se les aplicaron las escalas AMSTAR2, TREND y CONSORT quedando 6 artículos para análisis. Según la Resolución 008430/93, Artículo10, se consideró como investigación sin riesgo. Resultados: Intervenciones unicomponente reportaron efectos sobre creencias conductuales, actitudes, conocimiento de la sustancia, rendimiento académico, menor frecuencia de consumo y no conducir bajo efectos del alcohol. Las intervenciones multicomponente disminuyen en 3.03% el riesgo de consumo y reportan percepción positiva respecto a la utilidad de las actividades desarrolladas, satisfacción de expectativas, satisfacción general, calidad de materiales empleados, asistencia y puntualidad. Discusión: Los estudios sugieren implementar nuevas intervenciones, estrategias y políticas en salud primaria para promover una transformación social, educativa y sanitaria que generen un impacto favorable para mitigar la problemática actual de consumo de alcohol en jóvenes universitarios. Conclusiones: Esta revisión sistemática permitió sintetizar y valorar la evidencia disponible frente a intervenciones unicomponente y multicomponente realizadas en el contexto latinoamericano y del caribe que modifican positivamente factores de riesgo y pautas de consumo en jóvenes universitarios.

The Development of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Practice, Research, and Future Directions in Latin America

Although Latin America countries are similar in many aspects, psychology has evolved in different ways, according to the characteristics related to politics, economics, and culture of each country. This is the context in which CBT has spread through the region since the 1980s. This article aims to offer a brief historical overview of CBT development in Latin America and the challenges of its current practice. The inclusion of CBT in undergraduate and graduate studies of psychology, the therapists training programs, cultural challenges, and the CBT ​​research were discussed in this paper. All things considered, the main challenge of CBT in Latin America is to constantly reaffirm the scientific foundations of the theory and to continue to work in the scientific production of knowledge and its dissemination.

Who seeks Internet-based interventions for depression in Brazil?

Abstract Specific psychological treatments for depressive disorders delivered on the Internet have shown effectiveness and presented advantages over face-to-face treatments (potentially less expensive, flexible schedules, available in remote areas). This paper aims to describe the characteristics of those who sought help from an online self-guided intervention for depression and to explore hypotheses about predictors of enrollment to the program. Based on a sample of 282 of individuals who filled in screening questionnaires, we verified that the respondents were mainly female, were on average 34.36 years old, were primarily recruited through Facebook, had been previously diagnosed by mental health professionals, presented moderate self-efficacy perception, and had moderately severe symptoms of depression. Respondents who reported comorbid conditions were more likely to attend enrollment interviews, and being in treatment or not did not influence attendance. Such characterization may provide strategies to reach more people and to optimize the design of interventions targeting help-seeking depressed individuals in Brazil.