Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT)

Kjeld Andersen

Status: Completed

Conditions: CRAFT; Concern Significant Others; Alcohol Use Disorder

Treatments: Behavioral: CRAFT

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03281057

CRAFT112018

Details and patient eligibility

About

The present study is dedicated to empowering individuals close to an addicted person (i.e. concerned significant others, CSOs) to create changes in their family environment: changes that increase the likelihood of the addicted person seeking treatment.

The Danish National Clinical Guideline for the treatment of alcohol dependence recommends that alcohol treatment centers offer interventions aimed at CSOs, providing them with the support and empowerment that will enable them to motivate the problem drinker to enter treatment. In the US, the Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) intervention has been shown to offer the most effective support to CSOs. CRAFT has consistently demonstrated a two to three times' higher impact on getting individual with an alcohol use disorder (AUD) to attend treatment, compared to other kinds of interventions. Studies of the intervention so far have, however, been small, and the format used in the delivery of CRAFT has not been fully investigated.

The aim of the present cluster randomized controlled trial is to implement and investigate CRAFT in a Danish context and with sufficient sample size. Consecutive CSOs will through cluster randomization be randomized to receive either CRAFT in a group format, CRAFT in an individual format, or a control condition, consisting of self-help material only. The primary outcome of the study will be the rate of individuals with AUD entering treatment following the intervention targeted at the CSOs within three months from its initiation. Data will be collected from all CSOs at baseline, three, and six months after baseline.

Enrollment: 255 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 18 years and older
• Being a CSO to a person with AUD who is not currently in treatment for alcohol problems
• Having the intention to maintain the contact during the next 90 days
• Having had regular contact with the problem drinker for the last 90 days (face-to-face contact for several hours on at least a weekly basis) and having the intention to maintain the contact during the next 90 days.
• Being prepared support the problem drinker if he/she chooses to seek treatment, at least to some extent.

Exclusion criteria

• Suffering from dementia or other cognitive disorders
• Not speaking Danish
• Being psychotic or otherwise severely mentally ill
• Suffering from AUD in the last three months
• Being concerned about a person who, according to the CSO, mainly use illegal substances

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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255 participants in 3 patient groups

Individual CRAFT

Experimental group

Description:

Individual CRAFT is offered to 135 participants and each participants are going to get 6 sessions.

Treatment:

Behavioral: CRAFT

Group CRAFT

Experimental group

Description:

Open group CRAFT is offered to 135 participants in 6 sessions.

Treatment:

Behavioral: CRAFT

Self-help materials

Experimental group

Description:

Self-help materials (control group) are going to be offered a self-help book, because it is unethically not to offer any intervention, as the CRAFT intervention in early studies have shown to be very effectful

Treatment:

Behavioral: CRAFT