Peer-Led Intervention To Reduce Alcohol Binge Drinking Among University Students In Romania

Official title

Peer-Led Intervention To Reduce Alcohol Binge Drinking Among University Students In Romania- A Pilot Study Of The Implementation Processes

Overview

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a behavioural intervention to change binge drinking habits in university students in Romania is feasible. The main research question is: Is a peer-led Alcohol Brief Intervention feasible to be implemented in a Romanian University to reduce binge drinking among students? Researchers will compare brief intervention (counselling) to no intervention. Student participants will: 1. Receive brief counselling for 15-20 minutes by their peers who were trained. 2. Report their alcohol consumption levels in three surveys conducted over three months.

Detailed description

Pre-intervention focus group discussions: Students will be involved in group discussions, up to 90 minutes, to share their perspective on binge drinking.

Pre-intervention co-design workshop: Students will be involved in a 3-hour workshop to co-design messages to be used during the brief advice intervention.

University staff will be invited to participate in in-depth interviews lasting up to 60 minutes.

Intervention:

Student participants- They will be administered a pre-intervention survey lasting approximately 60-minutes by research assistants, a 15-20 minutes brief advice/counselling session by their peers, a midline survey of 5 minutes, and an endline survey of approximately 60 minutes administered by research assistants. these students will be invited to take part in a focus group at the end of the intervention lasting 90 minutes.

Peers- Peers are students who volunteered to deliver the brief counselling to other students. They will first undergo training by motivational interviewing experts for approximately 6-8 hours spread across 2 days. We intend to recruit 4 peers and each one will deliver the brief advice to 15 students, each session lasting 15-20 minutes. The peers will then be invited to participate in a focus group discussion lasting up to 90 minutes at the end of the intervention.

Interventions

• Behavioral Peer-led Alcohol Brief Intervention (identification + advice)
  The intervention consists of a peer-led ABI for university students. This intervention aligns with the ABI approach recommended by the WHO as a cost-effective strategy to reduce harmful alcohol use, particularly in primary care and community settings. The brief advice component of the intervention will incorporate Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques, a client-centred, evidence-based counselling style intervention effective for reducing risky drinking behaviours. The brief advice will be ta

Primary outcome measures

• Recruitment rate [Time frame: Baseline, 3 month]
• Retention rate [Time frame: Baseline, 3 month]
• Knowledge on binge drinking and adverse outcomes [Time frame: Baseline, 1 month, 3 month]
• Attitude [Time frame: Baseline, 3 month]
• Subjective norms [Time frame: Baseline, 3 month]
• Intention to change [Time frame: Baseline, 3 month]
• Feasibility outcome [Time frame: end line (month 3)]

Secondary outcome measures (1)

• Change in frequency of binge drinking in the past four weeks [Time frame: Baseline, 1 month, 3month]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• University students currently enrolled in full-time undergraduate or postgraduate programs at Babeș-Bolyai University in Romania
• Able to provide informed consent
• Willing to participate in an in-person session
• Alcohol status: AUDIT-C scoring 3 or above in females, 4 or above in males

Exclusion criteria

• Students currently receiving treatment for alcohol dependence or any other substance use disorder
• Students with a diagnosed severe mental health condition that may impair participation
• Participation in any similar alcohol reduction program in the past 6 months.
• Abstinent from alcohol consumption.

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Single blind

Primary purpose

Prevention

Study locations

Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.

Publications

• Lavilla-Gracia M, Pueyo-Garrigues M, Pueyo-Garrigues S, Pardavila-Belio MI, Canga-Armayor A, Esandi N, Alfaro-Diaz C, Canga-Armayor N. Peer-led interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in college students: A scoping review. Health Soc Care Community. 2022 Nov;30(6):e3562-e3578. doi: 10.1111/hsc.13990. Epub 2022 Sep 4. PMID 36057959
• Glanz K, Bishop DB. The role of behavioral science theory in development and implementation of public health interventions. Annu Rev Public Health. 2010;31:399-418. doi: 10.1146/annurev.publhealth.012809.103604. PMID 20070207
• Platt L, Melendez-Torres GJ, O'Donnell A, Bradley J, Newbury-Birch D, Kaner E, Ashton C. How effective are brief interventions in reducing alcohol consumption: do the setting, practitioner group and content matter? Findings from a systematic review and metaregression analysis. BMJ Open. 2016 Aug 11;6(8):e011473. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011473. PMID 27515753

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07193030 · PP202207-30

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗