Helseth Sarah A, Guigayoma John, Price Dayna, Spirito Anthony, Clark Melissa A, Barnett Nancy P, Becker Sara J
Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, United States.
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United States.
JMIR Res Protoc. 2022 Mar 11;11(3):e35402. doi: 10.2196/35402.
Adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system who use cannabis are at an increased risk of future substance use disorders and rearrest. Many court-involved, nonincarcerated (CINI) youth are referred for services in the community and often encounter multiple barriers to care, highlighting the need for minimally burdensome services that can be delivered in justice settings. Digital health interventions are accessible, easy to implement, and can provide ongoing support but have not been developed to address the unique needs of CINI youth who use cannabis.
This multiphase study will aim to develop, implement, and pilot test a novel smartphone app, Teen Empowerment through Computerized Health (TECH), to reduce cannabis and other substance use among CINI youth. TECH is conceptualized as a digital adjunct to a brief computerized intervention delivered by our family court partner.
Following the principles of user-centered design, phase I interviews with CINI youth aged 14-18 years (n=14-18), their caregivers (n=6-8), and behavioral health app developers (n=6-8) will guide the TECH design decisions. Next, in phase II, CINI youth (n=10) will beta test the TECH app prototype for 1 month; their feedback regarding feasibility and acceptability will directly inform the app refinement process. Finally, in phase III, CINI youth (n=60) will participate in a pilot randomized controlled trial for 6 months, comparing the preliminary effectiveness of the adjunctive TECH app on cannabis use outcomes.
Phase I data collection began in September 2020 and was completed in December 2021; 14 CINI youth, 8 caregivers, and 11 behavioral health app developers participated in the study. Phases II and III will occur in 2022 and 2023 and 2023 and 2025, respectively.
This body of work will provide insight into the feasibility and acceptability of a smartphone-based adjunctive intervention designed for CINI youth. Phase III results will offer a preliminary indication of the effectiveness of the TECH app in reducing cannabis use among CINI youth.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/35402.
参与青少年司法系统且使用大麻的青少年未来出现物质使用障碍和再次被捕的风险会增加。许多涉及法庭的非监禁青少年（CINI）被转介到社区接受服务，并且经常遇到多种护理障碍，这凸显了在司法环境中提供负担最小的服务的必要性。数字健康干预措施易于获取、易于实施，并且可以提供持续支持，但尚未针对使用大麻的CINI青少年的独特需求而开发。
这项多阶段研究旨在开发、实施并试点测试一款新型智能手机应用程序——通过计算机化健康实现青少年赋权（TECH），以减少CINI青少年中的大麻及其他物质使用。TECH被概念化为我们的家庭法庭合作伙伴提供的简短计算机化干预的数字辅助工具。
遵循以用户为中心的设计原则，对14至18岁的CINI青少年（n = 14 - 18）、他们的照顾者（n = 6 - 8）以及行为健康应用程序开发者（n = 6 - 8）进行的第一阶段访谈将指导TECH的设计决策。接下来，在第二阶段，10名CINI青少年将对TECH应用程序原型进行为期1个月的测试；他们关于可行性和可接受性的反馈将直接为应用程序的优化过程提供信息。最后，在第三阶段，60名CINI青少年将参与一项为期6个月的试点随机对照试验，比较辅助性TECH应用程序对大麻使用结果的初步有效性。
第一阶段的数据收集于2020年9月开始，并于2021年12月完成；14名CINI青少年、8名照顾者和11名行为健康应用程序开发者参与了该研究。第二阶段和第三阶段将分别在2022年和2023年以及2023年和2025年进行。
这项工作将深入了解为CINI青少年设计的基于智能手机的辅助干预措施的可行性和可接受性。第三阶段的结果将初步表明TECH应用程序在减少CINI青少年大麻使用方面的有效性。
国际注册报告识别号（IRRID）：DERR1-10.2196/35402。
