A Systematic Review of the mHealth Interventions to Prevent Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Open accessAbstract
Substance abuse in young adults is a public health issue with costs to the individual and society. There is mounting evidence that the increased uses of mHealth approaches have promise as a way to facilitate reductions in substance use. This systematic review evaluated the recent body of research on mHealth-based interventions for substance use, with aims of (a) examining the functionality and effectiveness of these interventions, (b) evaluating the available research on the effectiveness of these interventions for substance use, and (c) evaluating the design, methodology, results, theoretical grounding, limitations, and implications of each study. We identified eligible studies by searching electronic databases using Boolean methods. The reviewed studies (N = 12) indicated that that a wide range of Internet-based, text messaging, and smartphone application interventions have been developed to address substance use. Interventions had an assortment of features; participants in each study highlighted the ease and convenience of the interventions; and the majority of studies provided support for the efficacy of mHealth in reducing substance use. Mobile technology is a promising tool for reducing substance use and warrants further development. Future practice including the use of mHealth interventions can be an integral part of reducing substance use.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
mHealth-based strategies have been reported to play a crucial role in early diagnosis and provision of continuing care for students with alcohol and SUD.
“mHealth-based strategies also have been reported to include other advantages such as the potential to play a crucial role in early diagnosis and provision of continuing care for students with alcohol and SUD [24,25].”
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: the PRISMA statement
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & for the PRISMA Group (2009) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.b2535 · Cited by 83,823 · see citing works
The Measurement of Observer Agreement for Categorical Data
Landis, J. R., & Koch, G. G. (1977) · Biometrics · doi:10.2307/2529310 · Cited by 81,148 · see citing works
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & The PRISMA Group (2009) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097 · Cited by 64,042 · see citing works
Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA Statement.
(2009) · PubMed Central · Cited by 44,859 · see citing works
Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions: Cochrane Book Series
(2008) · doi:10.1002/9780470712184 · Cited by 25,048 · see citing works
From Intentions to Actions: A Theory of Planned Behavior
Ajzen, I. (1985) · Action Control · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-69746-3_2 · Cited by 19,057 · see citing works
Wang, G., Ma, R., Qiao, G., Wada, K., Aizawa, Y., & Satoh, T. (2015) · Integrative Medicine International · doi:10.1159/000368408 · Cited by 18,759 · see citing works
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
(2010) · Wilderness and Environmental Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.wem.2010.09.015 · Cited by 2,976 · see citing works
The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families
O'Keeffe, G. S., Clarke-Pearson, K., & Council on Communications and Media (2011) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2011-0054 · Cited by 1,987 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Further, technologies such as mobile apps, text messaging and online chat increase receptivity to new information and verbalization in this age group (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011; Ozkan & Solmaz, 2015).”
BackgroundBehavior change interventions delivered by mobile telephone short message service
Fjeldsoe, B. S., Marshall, A. L., & Miller, Y. D. (2009) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2008.09.040 · Cited by 1,213 · see citing works
2010 National and State Costs of Excessive Alcohol Consumption
Sacks, J. J., Gonzales, K. R., Bouchery, E. E., Tomedi, L. E., & Brewer, R. D. (2015) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2015.05.031 · Cited by 1,180 · see citing works
Mobile phone-based interventions for smoking cessation
Whittaker, R., McRobbie, H., Bullen, C., Rodgers, A., & Gu, Y. (2016) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd006611.pub4 · Cited by 1,079 · see citing works
Generation Z: Technology and Social Interest
Turner, A. (2015) · The Journal of Individual Psychology · doi:10.1353/jip.2015.0021 · Cited by 970 · see citing works
A Smartphone Application to Support Recovery From Alcoholism: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Gustafson, D. H., McTavish, F. M., Chih, M.-Y., Atwood, A. K., Johnson, R. A., Boyle, M. G., Levy, M. S., Driscoll, H., Chisholm, S. M., Dillenburg, L., et al. (2014) · JAMA Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.4642 · Cited by 692 · see citing works
Patrick, K., Griswold, W. G., Raab, F., & Intille, S. S. (2008) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2008.05.001 · Cited by 479 · see citing works
Mobile phone-based interventions for smoking cessation
Whittaker, R., McRobbie, H. J., Bullen, C., Borland, R., Rodgers, A., & Gu, Y. (2012) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd006611.pub3 · Cited by 392 · see citing works
White, A., Castle, I. P., Chen, C. M., Shirley, M., Roach, D., & Hingson, R. (2015) · Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research · doi:10.1111/acer.12815 · Cited by 378 · see citing works
Alcohol use and binge drinking among women of childbearing age — United States, 2011–2013
Tan, C. H., Denny, C. H., Cheal, N. E., Sniezek, J. E., & Kanny, D. (2015) · MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report · doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6437a3 · Cited by 378 · see citing works
Rizvi, S. L., Dimeff, L. A., Skutch, J., Carroll, D., & Linehan, M. M. (2011) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2011.01.003 · Cited by 271 · see citing works
Bewick, B. M., Trusler, K., Barkham, M., Hill, A. J., Cahill, J., & Mulhern, B. (2008) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2008.01.005 · Cited by 233 · see citing works
Pal, K., Eastwood, S. V., Michie, S., Farmer, A. A., Barnard, M., Peacock, R., Wood, B., Edwards, P. J., & Murray, E. (2014) · Diabetes Care · doi:10.2337/dc13-1386 · Cited by 227 · see citing works
Gerber, B. S., Stolley, M. R., Thompson, A. L., Sharp, L. K., & Fitzgibbon, M. (2009) · Health Informatics Journal · doi:10.1177/1460458208099865 · Cited by 215 · see citing works
Mobile phone-based interventions for smoking cessation
Whittaker, R., Borland, R., Bullen, C., Lin, R. B., McRobbie, H., & Rodgers, A. (2009) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd006611.pub2 · Cited by 196 · see citing works
Wieland, L. S., Falzon, L., Sciamanna, C. N., Trudeau, K. J., Brodney Folse, S., Schwartz, J. E., & Davidson, K. W. (2012) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd007675.pub2 · Cited by 195 · see citing works
Cohn, A. M., Hunter‐Reel, D., Hagman, B. T., & Mitchell, J. N. (2011) · Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research · doi:10.1111/j.1530-0277.2011.01571.x · Cited by 194 · see citing works
Suffoletto, B. P., Callaway, C. W., Kristan, J., Kraemer, K. L., & Clark, D. B. (2011) · Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research · doi:10.1111/j.1530-0277.2011.01646.x · Cited by 190 · see citing works
Internet and mobile phone text messaging intervention for college smokers
Riley, W., Obermayer, J., & Jean-Mary, J. (2008) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.3200/jach.57.2.245-248 · Cited by 184 · see citing works
Gajecki, M., Berman, A. H., Sinadinovic, K., Rosendahl, I., & Andersson, C. (2014) · Addiction Science & Clinical Practice · doi:10.1186/1940-0640-9-11 · Cited by 179 · see citing works
Agyapong, V. I. O., Ahern, S., McLoughlin, D. M., & Farren, C. K. (2012) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2012.02.040 · Cited by 167 · see citing works
Donoghue, K., Patton, R., Phillips, T., Deluca, P., & Drummond, C. (2014) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.3193 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
Mobile Addiction of Generation Z and its Effects on their Social Lifes
ÖZKAN, M. M., & Solmaz, B. (2015) · Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.09.027 · Cited by 153 · see citing works
Suffoletto, B., Kristan, J., Callaway, C., Kim, K. H., Chung, T., Monti, P. M., & Clark, D. B. (2014) · Annals of Emergency Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2014.06.010 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
The use of grey literature in health sciences: a preliminary survey.
Alberani, V., Pietrangeli, P. D. C., & Mazza, A. M. (1990) · Europe PMC (PubMed Central) · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Computer-based interventions for college drinking: A qualitative review
Elliott, J. C., Carey, K. B., & Bolles, J. R. (2008) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2008.03.006 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Weitzel, J. A., Bernhardt, J. M., Usdan, S., Mays, D., & Glanz, K. (2007) · Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs · doi:10.15288/jsad.2007.68.534 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Mobile phone-based behavioural interventions for health: A systematic review
Buhi, E. R., Trudnak, T. E., Martinasek, M. P., Oberne, A. B., Fuhrmann, H. J., & McDermott, R. J. (2013) · Health Education Journal · doi:10.1177/0017896912452071 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
Witkiewitz, K., Desai, S. A., Bowen, S., Leigh, B. C., Kirouac, M., & Larimer, M. E. (2014) · Psychology of Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1037/a0034747 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
Gonzalez, V. M., & Dulin, P. L. (2015) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0038620 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
The BlackBerry project: Capturing the content of adolescents' text messaging.
Underwood, M. K., Rosén, L., More, D., Ehrenreich, S. E., & Gentsch, J. K. (2011) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0025914 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Internet factors influencing generations Y and Z in Australia and Portugal: A practical study
Issa, T., & Isaias, P. T. (2016) · Information Processing & Management · doi:10.1016/j.ipm.2015.12.006 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Short Message Service (SMS) Technology in Alcohol Research--A Feasibility Study
Kuntsche, E. N., & Robert, B. (2009) · Alcohol and Alcoholism · doi:10.1093/alcalc/agp033 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Litvin, E. B., Abrantes, A. M., & Brown, R. A. (2012) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2012.09.003 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Mobile phone ownership, usage and readiness to use by patients in drug treatment
Milward, J., Day, E., Wadsworth, E., Strang, J., & Lynskey, M. T. (2014) · Drug and Alcohol Dependence · doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.11.001 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Text Messaging to Increase Readiness to Change Alcohol Use in College Students
Mason, M. J., Benotsch, E. G., Way, T., Kim, H., & Snipes, D. J. (2013) · The Journal of Primary Prevention · doi:10.1007/s10935-013-0329-9 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Mobile Delivery of Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorders: A Review of the Literature
Quanbeck, A. (2014) · Alcohol research · doi:10.35946/arcr.v36.1.11 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Texting, techspeak, and tweens: The relationship between text messaging and English grammar skills
Cingel, D. P., & Sundar, S. S. (2012) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/1461444812442927 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Gonzales, R., Ang, A., Murphy, D. A., Glik, D. C., & Anglin, M. D. (2014) · Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment · doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2014.01.010 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Shrier, L. A., Rhoads, A. M., Burke, P. J., Walls, C. E., & Blood, E. (2013) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.09.028 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Haug, S., Schaub, M. P., Venzin, V., Meyer, C., John, U., & Gmel, G. E. (2013) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.2755 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Bingham, C. R., Barretto, A. I., Walton, M. A., Bryant, C. M., Shope, J. T., & Raghunathan, T. E. (2010) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448480903501178 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Exploring the Focus and Experiences of Smartphone Applications for Addiction Recovery
Savic, M., Best, D. W., Rodda, S. N., & Lubman, D. I. (2013) · Journal of Addictive Diseases · doi:10.1080/10550887.2013.824331 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Bock, B. C., Rosen, R. K., Barnett, N. P., Thind, H. K., Walaska, K., Foster, R., Deutsch, C., & Traficante, R. M. (2015) · JMIR mhealth and uhealth · doi:10.2196/mhealth.3779 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Shillington, A. M., Woodruff, S. I., Clapp, J. D., Reed, M. B., & Lemus, H. (2012) · Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse · doi:10.1080/1067828x.2012.710026 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Computer-based tools for diagnosis and treatment of alcohol problems.
Hester, R. K., & Miller, J. H. (2006) · Europe PMC (PubMed Central) · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Lucht, M. J., Hoffman, L., Haug, S., Meyer, C., Pussehl, D., Quellmalz, A., Klauer, T., Grabe, H. J., Freyberger, H. J., John, U., et al. (2014) · Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research · doi:10.1111/acer.12403 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Christie, A., Dagfinrud, H. S., Dale, Ø., Schulz, T. W., & Hagen, K. B. (2014) · BMC Medical Research Methodology · doi:10.1186/1471-2288-14-52 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Haug, S., Lucht, M. J., John, U., Meyer, C., & Schaub, M. P. (2015) · Alcohol and Alcoholism · doi:10.1093/alcalc/agu107 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Alcohol Assessment Among College Students Using Wireless Mobile Technology
Bernhardt, J. M., Usdan, S., Mays, D. M., Martin, R. J., Cremeens, J. L., & Arriola, K. J. (2009) · Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs · doi:10.15288/jsad.2009.70.771 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Henry, S. B., Jia, H., Chen, E. S., Choi, J., John, R. M., Lee, N., Mendonça, E. A., Roberts, W. D., Vélez, O., & Currie, L. M. (2014) · The Journal for Nurse Practitioners · doi:10.1016/j.nurpra.2014.07.017 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Integrating mHealth mobile applications to reduce high risk drinking among underage students
Kazemi, D. M., Cochran, A. R., Kelly, J. F., Cornelius, J. B., & Belk, C. (2013) · Health Education Journal · doi:10.1177/0017896912471044 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Self-citationThe acquisition of Boolean concepts
Goodwin, G. P., & Johnson-Laird, P. N. (2013) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2013.01.007 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Mobile Phone–Based Questionnaire for Assessing 3 Months Modified Rankin Score After Acute Stroke
Cooray, C., Matusevicius, M., Wahlgren, N. G., et al. (2015) · Circulation Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes · doi:10.1161/circoutcomes.115.002055 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Higgins JP Green S 2008 Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions 5 Chichester, West Sussex Wiley-Blackwell
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Philippe, T. J., Sikder, N., Jackson, A., Koblanski, M. E., Liow, E., Pilarinos, A., & Vasarhelyi, K. (2022) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/35159 · Cited by 436 · see citing works
Smartphone Apps for the Treatment of Mental Disorders: Systematic Review
Miralles, I., Granell, C., Díaz-Sanahuja, L., Van Woensel, W., Bretón-López, J., Mira, A., Castilla, D., & Casteleyn, S. (2020) · JMIR mHealth and uHealth · doi:10.2196/14897 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Palmer, M., Sutherland, J., Barnard, S., Wynne, A., Rezel, E., Doel, A., Grigsby-Duffy, L., Edwards, S., Russell, S., Hotopf, E., et al. (2018) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0189801 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
Bennett, C. B., Ruggero, C. J., Sever, A. C., & Yanouri, L. (2020) · Journal of Psychotherapy Integration · doi:10.1037/int0000217 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
Sinha Deb, K., Tuli, A., Sood, M., Chadda, R., Verma, R., Kumar, S., Ganesh, R., & Singh, P. (2018) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0203353 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Bendtsen, M., McCambridge, J., Åsberg, K., & Bendtsen, P. (2021) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/add.15294 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
mHealth Interventions to Reduce Alcohol Use in Young People: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Hutton, A., Prichard, I., Whitehead, D., Thomas, S., Rubin, M., Sloand, E., Powell, T. W., Frisch, K., Newman, P., & Goodwin Veenema, T. (2020) · Comprehensive Child and Adolescent Nursing · doi:10.1080/24694193.2019.1616008 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Recent developments in the use of smartphone interventions for mental health
Mehrotra, S., & Tripathi, R. (2018) · Current Opinion in Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/yco.0000000000000439 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Kiburi, S. K., Ngarachu, E., Tomita, A., Paruk, S., & Chiliza, B. (2023) · Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment · doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2022.108926 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Lucht, M., Quellmalz, A., Mende, M., Broda, A., Schmiedeknecht, A., Brosteanu, O., Höppner‐Buchmann, J., Langosch, J., Stuppe, M., Schomerus, G., et al. (2021) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/add.15313 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Musyoka, C. M., Mbwayo, A., Donovan, D. M., & Mathai, M. (2023) · PLOS Digital Health · doi:10.1371/journal.pdig.0000177 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Constant, H. M. R. M., Ferigolo, M., Barros, H. M. T., & Moret-Tatay, C. (2021) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114068 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Hahn, J. A., Kevany, S., Emenyonu, N. I., Sanyu, N., Katusiime, A., Muyindike, W. R., Fatch, R., & Shade, S. B. (2023) · AIDS and Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10461-023-04010-6 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kazemi, D. M., Borsari, B., Levine, M. J., Li, S., Lamberson, K. A., & Matta, L. A.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Central Michigan University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kazemi, Donna M.
- Venue
- Journal of Health Communication
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2017-04-10
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 413-432
- ISSN
- 1081-0730 (ISSN-L)
- 1087-0415
- PMC
- PMC5616128
- OpenAlex
- W2607499164
- Cited by
- 255
- References
- 62
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 71 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 3
- FWCI
- 5.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Journal of Health Communication (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (1R21HSO23875-01)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Keywords
- mobile health intervention, substance use prevention, alcohol abuse, young adults, mobile application, text messaging intervention, online intervention, mobile health, intervention effectiveness
- MeSH terms
- Alcoholism, Humans, Program Evaluation, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Telemedicine, Substance-Related Disorders
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
