Drug User Internet and Mobile Tech Use

Exploratory Study of Drug User Health-related Internet and Mobile Technology Use

The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine factors associated with frequency and type of internet and mobile technology use among illegal drug users, specifically use of internet and text-messaging to obtain health care information and engage in health care utilization, specifically human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and treatment services. We will target high drug activity neighborhoods in New York City and enroll participants recruited through targeted street outreach. All participants (n=336) will undergo an audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) that will assess sociodemographics, health care access and utilization, sex/drug use behavior, health status, and characteristics of general and health-related internet/mobile technology use including factors that promote or hinder use. Participants identified as using the internet ≥1/month (n=151) will return for a 4-week ACASI to report on use of the pilot website (which will largely display information currently available in the community in print/ pamphlet/ video form).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Drug Abuse Illicit
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Pilot Website Evaluation Component

Detailed Description

At the enrollment visit participants deemed eligible after screening will be consented, and given a 30 minute baseline ACASI survey. At the end of the baseline visit, those participants who reported internet use at least 1x/month (in the past month) will be offered participation in the Pilot Website Evaluation Component. For this component, participants will be instructed on how to use an educational website with health resources. Their use of the website will be tracked. They will be given an appointment to return in 4-weeks for a follow up survey at the pharmacy and a 2-week locator call.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 212
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10032
      • Columbia University Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• any lifetime illegal drug use
• age > 18

Exclusion Criteria:

• none

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
OTHER: Website access; While this pilot intervention is not a randomized trial, study participants who report internet use at least once a month will told of a Pilot Website Evaluation Component that they will be able to access for a 4-week study period. This website will contain a educational information tailored to the health needs of drug users. Web content will be similar to materials and public health messages released by the NYC Department of Health and therefore, harm is not likely to arise from viewing such content.	Other: Pilot Website Evaluation Component; The pilot health website will contain educational health information such as: health-related videos, searchable map of HIV prevention and other needed health and social services, and the option to register for automatic text message updates on relevant health information.
NO_INTERVENTION: No website access; Participants who report internet use less than once a month will not receive access to the Pilot Website Evaluation Component.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Percent of participants who use the pilot website	4 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Percent of participants who use the internet	Baseline
Percent of participants who use the internet at least once a month	Baseline
Percent of participants who use the internet for health-related purposes	Baseline
Percent of participants who are willing to use internet or mobile technology for health-related purposes	Baseline
Percent of participants who sign up for receipt of automatic text message updates on relevant health information	4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Columbia University
• Collaborators: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Silvia Cunto-Amnesty, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Population and Family Health, Dept of Medicine Family Med

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: December 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): November 1, 2015
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): November 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 4, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 4, 2013
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): June 6, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE): November 26, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 25, 2015
• Last Verified: November 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: internet and mobile technology use; history of drug use; injection drug user (IDU) syringe customers
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: AAAL6402; 1R21DA034841-01A1 (NIH)