Improving Substance Abuse Counseling Adherence Using Web-based Videoconferencing

Johns Hopkins University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Substance Abuse Disorder

Treatments: Behavioral: eGet

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT01142609

1RC1DA028189-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

This research is being done to compare the effectiveness of standard on-site, in-person counseling with Internet web-based videoconferencing (e-therapy) in drug-dependent patients in opioid-agonist treatment programs. The study is looking to see if there are any differences in satisfaction or in treatment outcome if counseling sessions are given by e-therapy compared to standard, in-person counseling given in the clinic. The e-therapy happens in real time- it works very much like standard therapy in the clinic except that the patient is in his or her own home (or other convenient location outside the clinic) and talks to and sees the therapist through an Internet connection on the computer (the therapist will usually be at the clinic).

Full description

This study will be the first to evaluate the efficacy of an accredited and currently available, Internet web-based videoconferencing platform to deliver routine schedules of counseling in an opioid agonist treatment program. It has outstanding potential to help determine transportability of this technology to other treatment programs by demonstrating the benefits of integration of web-based therapy with on-site services to expand the continuum of care.

Enrollment: 85 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Access to a computer with Internet capability
• Full adherence to their routine counseling schedule over the previous 30-days
• Negative urine specimens over the previous 30-days
• Patient at ATS for 90 days

Exclusion criteria

• No access to a computer with Internet capability

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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85 participants in 2 patient groups

Internet (eGetgoing)

Experimental group

Description:

Subjects will assigned to use an accredited web-based platform (eGetgoingTM, CRC Health Group, Inc.) to deliver routine substance abuse counseling.

Treatment:

Behavioral: eGet

Routine on-site

No Intervention group

Description:

Subjects will attend routine face-to-face individual counseling sessions.