Cited by 47Health Policy Implementation ScienceMobile Health and mHealth ApplicationsSubstance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

Implementation of a Substance Use Recovery Support Mobile Phone App in Community Settings: Qualitative Study of Clinician and Staff Perspectives of Facilitators and Barriers

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Lord, Sarah, Moore, Sarah K, Ramsey, Alex, Dinauer, Susan, Johnson, Kimberly·2016·JMIR Mental Health

Abstract

Background: Research supports the effectiveness of technology-based treatment approaches for substance use disorders. These approaches have the potential to broaden the reach of evidence-based care. Yet, there is limited understanding of factors associated with implementation of technology-based care approaches in different service settings. Objectives: In this study, we explored provider and staff perceptions of facilitators and barriers to implementation of a mobile phone substance use recovery support app with clients in 4 service settings. Methods: Interviews were conducted with leadership and provider stakeholders (N=12) from 4 agencies in the first year of an implementation trial of the mobile phone app. We used the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research as the conceptual foundation for identifying facilitators and barriers to implementation. Results: Implementation process facilitators included careful planning of all aspects of implementation before launch, engaging a dedicated team to implement and foster motivation, working collaboratively with the app development team to address technical barriers and adapt the app to meet client and agency needs, and consistently reviewing app usage data to inform progress. Implementation support strategies included training all staff to promote organization awareness about the recovery support app and emphasize its priority as a clinical care tool, encouraging clients to try the technology before committing to use, scaling rollout to clients, setting clear expectations with clients about use of the app, and using peer coaches and consistent client-centered messaging to promote engagement. Perceived compatibility of the mobile phone app with agency and client needs and readiness to implement emerged as salient agency-level implementation facilitators. Facilitating characteristics of the recovery support app itself included evidence of its impact for recovery support, perceived relative advantage of the app over usual care, the ability to adapt the app to improve client use, and its ease of use. The mobile phone itself was a strong motivation for clients to opt in to use the app in settings that provided phones. App access was limited in settings that did not provide phones owing to lack of mobile phone ownership or incompatibility of the app with clients’ mobile phones. Individual differences in technology literacy and provider beliefs about substance use care either facilitated or challenged implementation. Awareness of patient needs and resources facilitated implementation, whereas external policies and regulations regarding technology use introduced barriers to implementation. Conclusions: The conceptually grounded facilitators and barriers identified in this study can guide systematic targeting of strategies to improve implementation of mobile phone interventions in community treatment settings. Results also inform the design of technology-based therapeutic tools. This study highlights directions for research with regard to implementation of technology-based behavioral health care approaches.

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  • Perceived usefulness is facilitated by the intervention providing a clear advantage over past or current care received.

    “and whether the intervention provided a clear advantage over past or current care received [103,117,121,155,171].”

    From Barriers to and facilitators of user engagement with digital mental health interventions: Systematic review (2021) · cites this paper as [171]

    The Results (Intervention Characteristics > Relative Advantage; page unavailable) say that perceived advantages of the recovery-support app over usual care facilitated implementation, particularly by improving ongoing client support. The paper does not establish that this advantage facilitated perceived usefulness specifically. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • In 3 studies, participants did not have the resources required to use an intervention.

    “in 3 studies, participants did not have the resources required to use an intervention [171,221,222].”

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [20]Smith A Pew Research Center 2016-05-06 A Portrait of Smartphone Ownership http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/chapter-one-a-portrait-of-smartphone-ownership/

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Authors
Lord, S., Moore, S. K., Ramsey, A., Dinauer, S., & Johnson, K.
Affiliations
  • Dartmouth College (US)
  • Capital Health Medical Center Hopewell (US)
  • Washington University in St. Louis (US)
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
Corresponding author
Lord, Sarah
Venue
JMIR Mental Health
Published
2016-06-28
Volume
3
Issue
2
Pages
e24
ISSN
2368-7959 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2468329448
Cited by
47
References
42
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 1
FWCI
6.83
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • JMIR Mental Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA040449, P30DA029926)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Policy Implementation Science
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
Keywords
mobile phone app, implementation barriers and facilitators, Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, technological literacy, peer coaching, mobile phone access

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