mHealth App for Changing Alcohol Use in Alaska Native American Indian People

For many people who have trouble with alcohol, peer support - the opportunity to share challenges, problem-solving strategies, and successes with supportive others - can be helpful. Building on Southcentral Foundation's (SCF's) established learning circles for sobriety support, the goal of this study is to culturally adapt and test the acceptability and feasibility of a smartphone app for sobriety support among Alaska Native and American Indian (AN/AI) people. In Aims 1 and 2 of this study, the investigators used input from patients and providers to culturally adapt a commercially available mHealth app for AN/AI people dealing with alcohol misuse. The investigators then merged culturally relevant content (e.g., stories and music) and skill-building modules based on the Community Reinforcement Approach with the existing informational and peer support features of the Connections app, a product of CHESS Health accessible on smartphones and tablets. The investigators will work with up to 125 SCF patients to assess the acceptability, feasibility, and measurable effects of the culturally-adapted app among AN/AI adults 21 and older, relying on questionnaires and interviews to evaluate the app features and utility. The study's primary outcome is the feasibility and acceptability of the modified CHESS app for AN/AI people as a tool for sobriety. The secondary outcomes are to examine changes in quality of life, alcohol use and problems, self-efficacy in sobriety, and stages of change over the course of using the app. The investigators will also explore whether alcohol use and problems are mediated by frequency of app use, app satisfaction, and alcohol self-efficacy.