Research Briefs

Technology-Based Interventions for Substance Use Treatment Among People Who Identify as African American or Black, Hispanic or Latino, and American Indian or Alaska Native: Scoping Review

Authors

S. K. Moore, J. S. Boggis, P. R. Gauthier, C. A. Lambert-Harris, E. G. Hichborn, K. D. Bell, et al

Purpose

This scoping review explored the extent to which research focused on technology-based interventions (TBIs) for substance use treatment included people who identify as African American or Black, Hispanic or Latino, and American Indian or Alaska Native (selected underrepresented minority groups; URM) as well as explicitly considered racial/ethnic identity to promote health equity.

Methods

Search criteria included TBIs in substance use treatment studies, excluding tobacco interventions, published between January 2000-March 2021 where ≥50% of participants (combined) identified as African American or Black, Hispanic or Latino, or American Indian or Alaska Native. Studies (6897) were screened and 83.2% were excluded at the title and abstract phase (5739/6897), and an additional 90.5% were excluded at the full-text review phase (1048/1158). Each section of the final 110 publications was assessed for explicit mention of racial or ethnic considerations. In addition, a critical appraisal of the extent to which outcomes could be interpreted to have implications for URM groups was conducted.

Findings

  • In 78.2% of the included studies (86/110) over half of the participants were from one URM group: 4/86 American Indian or Alaska Native, 15/86 Hispanic or Latino, and 67/86 African American or Black.
  • The two largest programs of research were: Motivation Enhancement System (14.5% of the included studies) and Computer-Based Training for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (9.1% of the included studies).
  • Less than half of the studies included explicit mention of at least one of the URM groups of interest (29/110) however, most of these studies included URM groups in the design and development of the TBI or research (23/29, 79%).
  • The critical appraisal revealed that only 28.2% of the studies were highly appraised for interpretability of findings for one or more URM group.
  • Areas of improvement for promoting health equity in URM include lowering access thresholds to increase participation in research, increasing TBI opioid, stimulant, and cannabis research, increased utilization of culturally informed theoretical models, planned racial and ethnic specific analyses, adapting existing TBIs for substance use treatment for URM groups, and focusing on intersectionality.

Relevance

  • This review provides the first systematic evaluation of health equity promotion by TBIs for substance use treatment measured by inclusion and extent of conscientiousness of race and ethnicity.
  • Each identified area of growth includes methods for promoting equity in future research.
  • The lack of interpretability of outcomes in this dataset for URM groups highlights the need for researchers to adapt existing TBIs, help illuminate potential gaps in the literature, and develop novel tools in a racially and ethnically consciousness manner.

Read More

Moore SK, Boggis JS, Gauthier PR, et al. (2024). Technology-Based Interventions for Substance Use Treatment Among People Who Identify as African American or Black, Hispanic or Latino, and American Indian or Alaska Native: Scoping Review. J Med Internet Res. 26:e53685. doi:10.2196/53685