A web application to reduce heavy drinking in first-time DWI offenders

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant Driving while intoxicated DWI is a major public health hazard In the U S there were deaths in caused by alcohol impaired drivers National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA a The New Mexico Dept of Transportation DoT reported the total DWI cost to New Mexico in alone was over one billion dollars NM DoT In New Mexico of DWI offenders are repeat offenders This is unacceptable Specifically more needs to be done to prevent first time offenders from becoming recidivists This proposal is to develop a new web application that could consistently deliver an effective intervention that has the potential to reduce heavy drinking in these offenders Currently however there are significant challenges to delivering empirically supported interventions to offenders First only a small proportion of DWI offenders are referred for treatment despite evidence that brief motivational interventions reduce heavy drinking in offenders Second for those referred to treatment providing such interventions through substance abuse counselors faces significant challenges Many substance abuse counselors are not trained in empirically supported protocols clinicians who are trained in empirically supported interventions tend to andquot driftandquot from protocols over time and there is an average annual turn over rate of in counselors in substance abuse programs McLellan et al This turnover means that programs that provide training for staff in empirically supported protocols often need to train new counselors and programs are rarely compensated for the cost Training then becomes an occasional event As a result counselors may not have the opportunity to be trained and if trained tend to andquot driftandquot from empirically supported protocols ove time This proposal provides an alternative We propose to develop a web application that could consistently deliver an intervention that has the potential to reduce heavy drinking in these offenders This reduction in drinking would reduce their risk for future DWIs alcohol related crashes injuries and death Taking advantage of a andquot teachable moment andquot the program will incorporate two empirically supported brief motivational interventions one for younger and one for older adults and an abstinence oriented cognitive behavioral intervention into a single new program called Right Turns There are two innovations in this proposal A web based and age appropriate BMI that is tailored to offenders and that takes their readiness to change at the end of it into account when segueing to a cognitive behavioral abstinence oriented web application to help them achieve and maintain sobriety The Randamp D proposed in Phase II is to complete the development of the program adding a follow up component to the BMIs and a andquot back officeandquot module for program administrators that include extensive outcome report functions The programandapos s effectiveness will then be evaluated in a randomized clinical trial with a month follow up

PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Drunk driving is a major public health hazard that caused deaths in the U S in If this program proves to be effective it could become a reliably delivered empirically supported intervention to reduce recidivism in first time DWI offenders Reducing the drinking alcohol related problems and drunk driving in this population would benefit the individuals their families and their communities