Program Reviews

Drinktest

Program Overview

Drinktest is a single, 10-minute personalized online risk assessment and feedback intervention targeting alcohol use.

Drinktest is designed for regular or heavy drinkers and includes personalized feedback about a user’s mean weekly alcohol intake and associated health risks, self-help guidelines to reduce alcohol intake (based on Dutch guidelines about low-risk drinking) and normative feedback to compare alcohol consumption to a user’s own cohort.

Link to commercial site here.

Last Updated: 10/31/2024

Delivery:
Web-based

Theoretical Approach:
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Target Substance(s):
Alcohol

Target Outcome(s):
Quantity
Frequency

Ages:
Young Adults (18-30)
Adults (30+)

Genders:
Male

Races/Ethnicities:
Unspecified

Setting:
Remote Access

Geographic Location:
Unspecified

Country:
Netherlands

Language:
Dutch

Evaluations

  • Boon, B, Risselada, A, Huiberts A, Riper H, and Smit, F. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2011. 13(2): e43. PMCID: PMC3221373.

    Summary: In this randomized controlled trial, 450 eligible participants (men whose consumption exceeded the threshold for national guidelines) recruited through two nationally representative panels were assigned to the experimental condition or to a leaflet control group. All participants were followed up at 1- and 6-months.

    There was minimal loss to follow up for both time points and attrition was equally distributed across conditions. The primary outcome was the percentage of men who decreased their alcohol consumption to below Dutch guidelines for weekly alcohol intake. At 1 month, significantly more men in the experimental condition managed to reduce drinking to within national norms compared to controls (42.2% versus 30.5%). At 6 months, the trend continued for both groups (45.7% versus 37.3%), but the difference between conditions was not significant.

    Take Away: This computer-based personalized feedback tool was more effective at reducing self-reported heavy drinking than a standard alcohol education brochure, at least in the short term.

  • Drinker prototype alteration and cue reminders as strategies in a tailored web-based intervention reducing adults’ alcohol consumption: randomized controlled trial. van Lettow B, de Vries H, Burdorf A, Boon B, van Empelen P. Journal of medical Internet research. 2015;17(2):e35-e35. doi:10.2196/jmir.3551