Designing a Mobile App for Veterans With Substance Use Problems

Many Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan experience problems with drinking. There
are treatments for alcohol use disorders that can be very helpful, but sometimes it can be
hard for Veterans to find or participate in the treatments. This can be because of the
amount of time the treatments take and the long distance to places where substance abuse
treatments are offered. For Veterans who live in rural areas, these types of issues can pose
even bigger problems. To address these issues, new types of treatments and ways of
delivering care are being studied.

We have developed a mobile application that will be accessed through the use of a mobile
device such as an ipod. The application will contain an application dedicated to the
treatment of substance abuse disorders. This application will provide the coping skills and
educational information to aide in helping with problems associated with drinking alcohol.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Veteran of the Armed Forces

2. are part of the primary care - mental health (PC-MH)

3. reside in a rural community, as defined by the US Census Bureau

4. score greater than or equal to 8 on the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test
(AUDIT)

5. meet diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence as assessed by the Mini
International Neuropsychiatric Inventory (MINI) according to the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual (DSM-IV)

6. Age 18 and older to participate. -

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Have conditions that threaten your safety (e.g., active suicidal intent, current
uncontrolled psychosis or bipolar disorders in the past month as assessed by the
MINI).

2. Veterans with a diagnosed concurrent substance dependence (other than nicotine) and
more than mild risk of alcohol withdrawal based on a score of greater than 8 on the
Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment of Alcohol (CIWA-Ar) will be excluded.