Abstract
BackgroundUniversity students have high levels of tobacco and other drug use, yet they are unlikely to seek traditional care. Technology-based interventions are highly relevant to this population. This paper comprises a systematic review and meta-analysis of published randomized trials of technology-based interventions evaluated in a tertiary (university/college) setting for tobacco and other drug use (excluding alcohol). It extends previous reviews by using a broad definition of technology.MethodsPubMed, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane databases were searched using keywords, phrases, and MeSH terms. Retrieved abstracts (n = 627) were double screened and coded. Included studies met the following criteria: (1) the study was a randomized trial or a randomized controlled trial (RCT); (2) the sample was composed of students attending a tertiary (e.g., university, college) institution; (3) the intervention was either delivered by or accessed using a technological device or process (e.g., computer/internet, telephone, mobile short message services [SMS]); (4) the age range or mean of the sample was between 18 and 25 years; and (5) the intervention was designed to alter a drug use outcome relating to tobacco or other drugs (excluding alcohol).ResultsA total of 12 papers met inclusion criteria for the current review. The majority of included papers examined tobacco use (n = 9; 75%), two studies targeted marijuana use (17%); and one targeted stress, marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco use. A quantitative meta-analysis was conducted on the tobacco use studies using an abstinence outcome measure (n = 6), demonstrating that the interventions increased the rate of abstinence by 1.5 times that of controls (Risk Ratio [RR] = 1.54; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 1.20–1.98). Across all 12 studies, a total of 20 technology-based interventions were reviewed. A range of technology was employed in the interventions, including stand-alone computer programs (n = 10), internet (n = 5), telephone (n = 3), and mobile SMS (n = 2).ConclusionsAlthough technological interventions have the potential to reduce drug use in tertiary students, very few trials have been conducted, particularly for substances other than tobacco. However, the improvement shown in abstinence from tobacco use has the potential to impact substantially on morbidity and mortality.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13722-015-0027-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
University students have high levels of tobacco and other drug use, yet they are unlikely to seek traditional care
The current study systematically reviewed published randomized trials of technology-based interventions evaluated in a tertiary setting for tobacco and other drug use
The reasons for exclusion at this stage were that the study: (1) was not an randomized controlled trial (RCT) or randomized trial (n = 4) [32,33,34,35]; (2) contained no extractable data (n = 4) [36,37]; (3) was not peer-reviewed (n = 3) [38,39,40]; (4) did not contain tobacco/other drug use outcomes (n = 2) [41,42]; (5) intervention did not utilize technology (n = 1) [43]; (6) sample age was not between 18 and 25 years (n = 1) [44]; and (7) sample was not composed of tertiary students (n = 1) [45]
Summary
University students have high levels of tobacco and other drug use, yet they are unlikely to seek traditional care. This paper comprises a systematic review and meta-analysis of published randomized trials of technology-based interventions evaluated in a tertiary (university/college) setting for tobacco and other drug use (excluding alcohol). It extends previous reviews by using a broad definition of technology. Substance use disorders are at Gulliver et al Addiction Science & Clinical Practice (2015): of first-year students met criteria for cannabis use disorder [6]. Drug use in young people is typically initiated at the age of, or just prior to, commencement of study at university. Intervention for substance use offers the potential to prevent the development of clinically significant problems. The university setting is an ideal environment in which to provide both broadscale preventative and treatment approaches [8] for tobacco and other drug use disorders in this group
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