Optimising Behaviour and Engagement with Care
DIAMOND (Digital Alcohol Management On Demand)
Excess alcohol consumption is the second most important risk factor for avoidable long term conditions and premature mortality in the UK, with 8 million adults in England drinking over current guidelines for safe alcohol consumption. Excess alcohol consumption is a highly tractable behaviour, but treatment availability is limited by costs and lack of trained staff. Online alcohol treatments may help overcome these barriers.
The DIAMOND study will determine the feasibility of a definitive trial to compare the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of supported access to a web-based alcohol intervention (HeLP-Alcohol; Healthy Living for People who drink Alcohol) with traditional face to face treatment.
The DIAMOND feasibility study will be rolled out in Islington, Camden and Haringey. Following this we will apply for external funding to conduct a randomised controlled trial to establish whether an online intervention is as effective as, and more cost-effective than, traditional face-to-face counselling for alcohol.
The results of this project will benefit patients by providing an accessible web-based intervention to help patients who are drinking excessively to cut down their alcohol intake.
Click on the image below to watch a short film introducing the project featuring Principal Investigator Professor Elizabeth Murray and our research team
Principal investigator: Professor Elizabeth Murray, University College London
Other project team members: Jo Hornby, University College London; Fiona Hamilton, University College London
Start date and duration: April 2014, three years
Partners and collaborators involved: University College London; Islington, Camden and Haringey Clinical Commissioning Groups; Camden, Islington and Haringey Local Authorities, Barts Health NHS Trust
DIAMOND (DIgital Alcohol Management ON Demand): a feasibility RCT and embedded process evaluation of a digital health intervention to reduce hazardous and harmful alcohol use recruiting in hospital emergency departments and online
DIAMOND feasibility randomised controlled trial of a web-based intervention to reduce alcohol consumption in people with hazardous and harmful use versus a face-to-face intervention: protocol
Prof Steph Taylor
Dr Fiona Hamilton
Professor Elizabeth Murray