Using Technology to Reduce Youth Substance Use (TEXT2)

University of California San Francisco (UCSF)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Drug Use

Treatments: Behavioral: SMS Text Messaging; Behavioral: Standard of Care Engagement Practices

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT04446910

1K24DA046569-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The research project will focus on conducting a trial of whether a tailored SMS text-messaging intervention is efficacious in improving justice-involved youths' substance use or dual diagnosis treatment attendance and engagement.

Full description

The study will demonstrate how delivery of motivational/coaching messages to justice-involved youth and their caregivers will lead to greater youth substance use treatment attendance and engagement. The study will start with identifying the feasibility and acceptability of the SMS text-messaging intervention with community-supervised justice-involved youth. Then, the study will determine whether the tailored dyadic (youth and caregiver) SMS text-messaging intervention improves justice-involved youth substance use or dual diagnosis treatment attendance and engagement relative to standard of care (not receiving motivational/coaching messages). Finally, the study will characterize patterns of key justice and behavioral health system-level factors that promote or hinder eventual adoption and sustainability of mHealth technology as a tool to improve treatment attendance for justice-involved youth.

Enrollment: 79 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 13 to 18 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• English-speaking youth with willing adult caregiver
• Ages 13-18
• Justice-involved while living in the community
• Own a mobile phone or tablet
• Are willing to send and receive text messages
• Are referred to community-based substance use and/or mental health treatment

Exclusion criteria

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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79 participants in 2 patient groups

SMS Text Messaging

Experimental group

Description:

SMS text messaging intervention for a period of 90 days to encourage attendance at community-based substance use or dual diagnosis treatment appointments through motivational messages.

Treatment:

Behavioral: SMS Text Messaging

Standard of Care Engagement Practices

Active Comparator group

Description:

Standard of care engagement practices, such as communicating with youth and caregivers, as needed, through texting but frequency of contact and content of messaging varies according to individual needs.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Standard of Care Engagement Practices