Research Project
9137068
? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Alcohol misuse is a significant public health problem, not only in the US but around the world. Just in the US, alcohol misuse is estimated to be the second cause of preventable death at a cost of more than $220 billion in a single year. Further, it is also estimated that it reduces the lives of those who died by 30 years. Screening and brief interventions have proved effective in promoting behavior changes that lead to increased awareness and decreased consumption when properly conducted at the primary care setting. However, there remain four main barriers that have curtailed broad adoption of screening and brief interventions by primary care: lack of access to validated tools, lack of training, reluctanc to raise the subject to the patient, and lack of face time. Overcoming these barriers creates a vastly significant clinical, public health, and commercial opportunity. VisionQuest Biomedical and the University of New Mexico have formed a team to develop and test the feasibility of PA?MSTM, a mobile platform for the delivery of screening and brief interventions for alcohol misuse. PA?MSTM technical innovation is that it shifts the delivery paradigm from paper and in-person delivery to software-as-a-service. PA?MSTM is not an electronic form only but a complete set of tools that allow electronic communication between patients, providers, and support groups from screening to brief interventions to follow up care. By enabling on-demand, up-to-date patient-centered screening and brief interventions PA?MSTM clinical innovation is that it extends the reach of primary care and facilitates care coordination and decision making. In Phase I, a prototype PA?MSTM will be developed and tested in a primary care setting on 40 patients who will be followed for two months. Standard metrics of usability, acceptability, and user satisfaction will be assessed in order to prove the feasibility of the prototype and plan for an improved version that will be tested in a multi-center clinical study in Phase II.
