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Help for recovering alcoholics at the touch of a smartphone

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People recovering from alcohol abuse have cut down on the number of days they drink thanks to a mobile app, according to a new study.

The Addiction-Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (A-CHESS) app was developed by David Gustafson from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US. The app provides its users with relaxation techniques and alerts for when they’re in range of bars and other places that may pose a risk to recovery from alcoholism.


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About one in four people recovering from alcohol abuse abstain from drinking alcohol in the first year of recovery, Gustafson and his colleagues wrote in JAMA Psychiatry.

Past studies show that continuing treatment for alcohol abuse is linked with better outcomes, but there are limited options available to people leaving rehab centres, they added.

The researchers randomly assigned 349 adults leaving rehabilitation centres for alcoholism to one of two groups. One group was given normal post-rehabilitation treatment, while the second group was also given the treatment, plus a smartphone with the A-CHESS app for eight months.

The results showed that 52 per cent of the people in the app group remained alcohol-free at the end of four, eight and 12-month follow-ups, compared with 40 per cent of people in the non-app group.

Moreover, those who used A-CHESS reported one day of “risky drinking” – which the researchers defined as consuming three or four alcoholic drinks within a two-hour period. This was compared with three days for those not using the app.

A-CHESS also includes a panic button to connect people with their supporters and other app users. It also has games to help distract people from their cravings.


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The study conclusions suggest the app may have a significant benefit to patients in continuing care for alcohol-use disorders. “This isn’t replacing something,” addiction expert Susan Foster tells Reuters Health. “This is trying to help patients manage their disease going forward.” She was not involved in the study.

More research is needed to understand the circumstances under which the app would work best, but Foster adds she’s happy to see the study. “I think it’s certainly worth a lot more attention and exploration.”

The researchers say A-CHESS may be a cost-conscious intervention because using the app cost about $647 (US$597) per patient during the study. But that cost could fall due to the high proportion of people with smartphones.

The most recent estimated annual cost to Australia’s healthcare system from drinking is $15 billion, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Gustafson says A-CHESS is already being used by over a dozen treatment agencies with success. "It's being commercialised, but we'll continue to do research around these kind of things for a while," he said.


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