Rinehart LM, Anker J, Unruh A, et al. Supplemental Intervention for Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment Patients with a Co-Occurring Anxiety Disorder: Technical Development and Functional Testing of an Autonomous Digital Program. JMIR Form Res. 2024;8:e62995. doi:10.2196/62995
This article outlined the adaptation and initial testing of a digital intervention targeting alcohol use disorder (AUD) in patients with a comorbid anxiety disorder. This novel digital intervention was modified to be fully autonomous from a previously examined and validated therapist-delivered intervention. The authors highlight the successes and unexpected delays and struggle with adapting a therapist-delivered intervention for digital use. The translation of the therapeutic intervention required specific assistance from e-learning experts, storyboarding, and more explicit advice from technology partners. Once ready, fifty-two individuals were recruited from a residential AUD treatment center. Participants with AUD and comorbid anxiety disorders completed baseline surveys and three one-hour sessions with the digital intervention. Participants rated the intervention positively, with a mean satisfaction score of 8.87 (SD=1.12) with 10 as the highest possible score. The helpfulness of the program (8.67, SD=1.44), and desire to refer a friend (8.93, SD=1.27) were also rated positively. Across all three sessions, participants rated the intervention as clear, engaging, and applicable to present symptoms (all mean > 8/10 or 4/5). Patients displayed gained knowledge following the intervention, showing functional mastery of key skills. Future research should be aimed at testing the efficacy of the digital intervention compared to a control or matched condition. Additional assessments compared to the original therapist-delivered modality would also be helpful.