You are here

C.A.R.E.S.: A Mobile Health Program for Alcohol Risk Reduction for an Under-Served College Population

Award Information
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services
Branch: National Institutes of Health
Contract: 1R42AA026788-01A1
Agency Tracking Number: R42AA026788
Amount: $211,856.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: STTR
Solicitation Topic Code: 550
Solicitation Number: PA17-303
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2017
Award Year: 2018
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2018-08-02
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2019-07-31
Small Business Information
1531 GALES ST
Washington, DC 20002-4521
United States
DUNS: 825278448
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 CHRISTOPHER DEUTSCH
 (202) 222-8105
 deutsccd@yahoo.com
Business Contact
 CHRISTOPHER DEUTSCH
Phone: (202) 222-8105
Email: deutsccd@yahoo.com
Research Institution
 MIRIAM HOSPITAL
 
164 SUMMIT AVE
PROVIDENCE, RI 02906-2853
United States

 Domestic Nonprofit Research Organization
Abstract

Project Summary AbstractExcessive alcohol use is the third leading preventable cause of death in the U Swith young adults agesshowing the highest rates of hazardous alcohol useCommunity colleges serve overmillion studentscomprisingof all U Scollege studentsCommunity college studentsCCSshow rates of heavy alcohol
use similar to students at traditional four year residentialFYRcollegesbut CCS are at higher risk for
negative consequences of heavy drinkingincluding physical and sexual assaultfatal injuriesand driving
under the influenceDespite the large number of CCS and their level of riskalcohol interventions for young
adults have focused almost exclusively on students at FYR collegesCCS differ from those at FYR colleges in
several waysCCS are more likely to have multiple roles and responsibilitiese gemploymentdrive moreto from campuslive with familyand socialize off campusand thus require intervention approaches tailored
to their life circumstancesCommunity colleges are less likely to offer health services than FYR institutions and
typically lack resources needed to implement alcohol interventions that are recommended for traditional
college studentssuch as in person motivational counselingApproaches that can deliver effective alcohol
harm reduction messages to CCS using a modality that is flexibleaccessibleand tailored to their specific
needs are urgently neededThis proposed FastTrack STTRPARbuilds on our successful pilot in which we developed a text
messageTxMdelivered alcohol intervention forand in collaboration with CCSIn Phase Iwe will develop
and iteratively test a smartphone applicationappincorporating our TxM program with additional features and
functionality requested by students in our pilot trialAimAfter obtaining user feedbackAimwe will
complete programming in both iOS and Android languagesAimTo ensure that the College Alcohol Risk
Education SystemCARESis well positioned to get into the community college marketplaceit is critical to
demonstrate efficacyThereforein Phase IIwe will conduct an efficacy trialAimof CARES compared to
a competing alcohol education program that would be feasible for most community colleges to adoptthus
providing a real world comparison with data suitable to support our efforts in future commercializationWe also
seek to identify the types of individuals for whom CARES is more less effectiveAimand identify how it
might be improvedAimWith an increasing number of states making community college free to state residentsdemand for
services is likely to increase rapidly in coming yearsWith overcommunity college systems across the
U Sthis seems an opportune moment to be targeting this market for health promotion products such as the
CARES app PROJECT NARRATIVE
While heavy alcohol use is a significant health problem for community college studentswho
comprise nearlyof all college students nationwidealcohol programs currently marketed to
colleges rely on resources that are typically not available on community college campusesThis
project will develop and test a smartphone app to provide an alcohol risk reduction program
designed forand in collaboration withcommunity college studentsAn effective evidencebased intervention tailored to the needs of this population could have a major impact on the
health of millions of Americans who are at high risk from the consequences of heavy drinking

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

US Flag An Official Website of the United States Government