Using Technology to Reduce Youth Substance Use

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The research project will focus on conducting a trial of whether a tailored SMS text-messaging intervention is efficacious in improving justice-involved youths' substance use or dual diagnosis treatment attendance and engagement.

Detailed Description
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The study will demonstrate how delivery of motivational/coaching messages to justice-involved youth and their caregivers will lead to greater youth substance use treatment attendance and engagement. The study will start with identifying the feasibility and acceptability of the SMS text-messaging intervention with community-supervised justice-involved youth. Then, the study will determine whether the tailored dyadic (youth and caregiver) SMS text-messaging intervention improves justice-involved youth substance use or dual diagnosis treatment attendance and engagement relative to standard of care (not receiving motivational/coaching messages). Finally, the study will characterize patterns of key justice and behavioral health system-level factors that promote or hinder eventual adoption and sustainability of mHealth technology as a tool to improve treatment attendance for justice-involved youth.

Official Title
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Using Technology to Reduce Youth Substance Use

Conditions
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Drug Use

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: SMS Text Messaging
* Behavioral: Standard of Care Engagement Practices


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: English-speaking youth with willing adult caregiver Ages 13-18 Justice-involved while living in the community Own a mobile phone or tablet Are willing to send and receive text messages Are referred to community-based substance use and/or mental health treatment Exclusion Criteria: -

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 13 Years
Maximum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Interventional Model Description: This is a hybrid 1 effectiveness-implementation design in which the investigators will test a theory-driven digital health (i.e., SMS text-messaging) treatment engagement intervention while also collecting data on the text messaging platform's potential implementation and adoption within juvenile justice and behavioral health settings.
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: SMS Text Messaging<br>SMS text messaging intervention for a period of 90 days to encourage attendance at community-based substance use or dual diagnosis treatment appointments through motivational messages. | Behavioral: SMS Text Messaging<br>* SMS text messaging intervention for a period of 90 days to promote attendance at community-based substance use or dual diagnosis treatment appointments through motivational messages.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Standard of Care Engagement Practices<br>Standard of care engagement practices, such as communicating with youth and caregivers, as needed, through texting but frequency of contact and content of messaging varies according to individual needs. | Behavioral: Standard of Care Engagement Practices<br>* Standard of care engagement practices, such as communicating with youth and caregivers, as needed, through texting but frequency of contact and content of messaging varies according to individual needs.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Treatment session attendance | Proportion of treatment sessions attended | 30 days post baseline | 
| Treatment session attendance | Proportion of treatment sessions attended | 60 days post baseline | 
| Treatment session attendance | Proportion of treatment sessions attended | 90 days post baseline | 
| Treatment session attendance | Proportion of treatment sessions attended | 120 days post baseline | 
| Treatment session attendance | Proportion of treatment sessions attended | 180 days post baseline | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| First treatment session initiation | Proportion who attended first treatment session, as scheduled | 120 days post baseline | 
| First treatment session initiation | Proportion who attended first treatment session, as scheduled | 180 days post baseline | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Adolescent, Juvenile justice, text messaging, Substance use, mHealth