An Electronic Brief Alcohol Intervention for Women Attending a Breast Screening Service (Health4Her)
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
Alcohol is a major modifiable risk factor for female breast cancer; yet, awareness of this risk remains surprisingly low and is not systematically addressed in healthcare settings. This study aim to test the effectiveness of a co-designed, automated brief alcohol intervention (Health4Her-Automated) in reducing women's drinking intentions, improving alcohol literacy, and reducing consumption.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Detailed Description
Alcohol is a major modifiable risk factor for female breast cancer, even in very low amounts. In Australia, alcohol consumption accounts for 6.6 per cent of cases in post-menopausal women, and 18 per cent of breast cancer deaths. Yet, awareness of this risk remains low and is not systematically addressed in healthcare settings. Embedding a brief alcohol intervention within lifestyle information offered to all women attending breast screening provides the opportunity to address harmful drinking in a discrete, non-judgmental way, to prevent alcohol-attributable breast cancer among this at-risk population.
Brief alcohol interventions are short, single-session programs typically offered in general practice settings to gather information on a person's alcohol consumption and, in a non confrontational way, provide strategies and motivate change to reduce consumption and related risk of harm. An automated brief alcohol intervention, self-completed on a device such as an iPad, is a low-cost, labour- and time-efficient approach that overcomes many of the issues of providing intervention within busy healthcare environments.
Building on the previous pilot trial of a prototype brief e-health intervention (which included alcohol-related questions asked by a researcher, and an animation viewed on an iPad that was activated by the researcher), the aim of the current study is to test the effectiveness of a co-designed, automated brief alcohol intervention (Health4Her-Automated) in reducing women's drinking intentions, improving alcohol literacy, and reducing consumption.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Experimental: Brief alcohol intervention (Health4Her-Automated) + lifestyle health promotion The intervention arm will receive: brief alcohol intervention lifestyle health promotion focused on physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight for reducing breast cancer risk. Participants will receive an iPad and earphones to self-complete the intervention. Alcohol and lifestyle information will be delivered by way of an animation on an iPad, and self-completed activities to reinforce intervention content. |
Behavioral: Brief alcohol intervention (Health4Her-Automated)
Embedded within the lifestyle health promotion provided in both conditions, participants randomised to the experimental condition will receive a brief alcohol intervention. The brief alcohol intervention will comprise information and behaviour-change content regarding alcohol consumption, including: messaging around alcohol risks/harms (with a focus on alcohol use and breast cancer risk), positive-framed messaging on the health benefits of reducing alcohol intake, and alcohol harm-reduction / behaviour change strategies (e.g. drink counting, goal setting, behaviour substitution, problem solving).
Post-session information will be provided via email (i.e. electronic brochure summarising brief alcohol intervention content).
Behavioral: Lifestyle health promotion
Lifestyle health promotion, focused on physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight for reducing breast cancer risk, will be provided.
Post-session information will be provided via email (i.e. electronic brochure summarising nutrition for maintaining a healthy weight).
|
| Other: Lifestyle health promotion The control arm will receive: lifestyle health promotion focused on physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight for reducing breast cancer risk. Participants will receive an iPad and earphones to self-complete the control intervention. Lifestyle information will be delivered by way of an animation on an iPad, and a self-completed activity to reinforce intervention content. |
Behavioral: Lifestyle health promotion
Lifestyle health promotion, focused on physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight for reducing breast cancer risk, will be provided.
Post-session information will be provided via email (i.e. electronic brochure summarising nutrition for maintaining a healthy weight).
|
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Drinking intentions [immediately post-randomisation]
Change in next-month drinking intentions (5-point scale: 1, not at all; 5, to a very large extent)
Secondary Outcome Measures
- Drinking intentions [4-weeks post-randomisation]
Change in next-month drinking intentions (5-point scale: 1, not at all; 5, to a very large extent)
- Drinking intentions - standard drinks [4-weeks post-randomisation]
Change in intended number of standard drinks consumed over the next month (composite of intention frequency/quantity response items)
- Proportion of participants intending to reduce alcohol consumption [immediately post-randomisation]
Proportion of participants intending to reduce their next-month alcohol consumption (5-point scale: 1, not at all; 5, to a very large extent)
- Proportion of participants intending to reduce alcohol consumption [4-weeks post-randomisation]
Proportion of participants intending to reduce their next-month alcohol consumption (5-point scale: 1, not at all; 5, to a very large extent)
- Knowledge of alcohol as a breast cancer risk factor [4-weeks post-randomisation]
Proportion of participants accurately identifying alcohol as a clear risk factor for breast cancer
- Alcohol literacy [4-weeks post-randomisation]
Proportion of participants accurately identifying i) the increased breast cancer risk associated with drinking one average restaurant serve of wine a day; ii) the number of standard drinks in an average restaurant serve of red wine; iii) the maximum number of standard drinks per week recommended by current Australian Alcohol Guidelines (multiple-choice questions)
- Alcohol consumption [4-weeks post-randomisation]
Among women who have had an alcohol drink in the past month, change in alcohol consumption (composite of frequency/quantity response items)
- Knowledge of other breast cancer risk factors [4-weeks post-randomisation]
Proportion of participants accurately identifying inactivity and excess weight as risk factors for breast cancer
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
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Female
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40+ years of age
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Attending routine breast screening
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With or without a breast cancer history
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Reporting any level of alcohol consumption
Exclusion Criteria:
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Not able to read or comprehend English to enable participation
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No access to a computer, tablet or smartphone to complete follow-up assessment
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Women who are pregnant (also an exclusion from breast screening)
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Participation in the pilot Health4Her trial
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maroondah BreastScreen | Ringwood East | Victoria | Australia | 3135 |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- Turning Point
- Monash University
- Eastern Health
- BreastScreen Victoria
- Lifepool
- Shades of Pink
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Jasmin Grigg, PhD, Turning Point, Eastern Health; Monash University
Study Documents (Full-Text)
More Information
Publications
None provided.- LR22-071-91112