Enhancing a brief online intervention to reduce alcohol consumption

INTERVENTION: Participants will complete a baseline online questionnaire to assess their typical alcohol consumption. The randomisation function in Qualtrics will then be used to randomly allocate participants to one of four versions of the “Don’tBottleItUp” (DBIU) website to provide a 2 (structure: tunnelled vs. free‐roam) × 2 (planning: strategies vs. if‐then plans) between‐participants factorial design. The four versions that will be compared are therefore: tunnelled version with strategies to cut down, (tunnelled version with plans to cut down, free‐roam version with strategies to cut down, and free‐roam version with plans to cut down. All participants, when they enter the DBIU website, will be asked to complete the AUDIT measure that will categorise them into low, increasing, higher and high/possible dependent risk categories. All participants will receive feedback on their AUDIT score (i.e. their risk category) and will be provided with information on the government’s recommendations for weekly alcohol consumption. Tunnelled versions: Participants who receive tunnelled versions of the DBIU website will be asked to view the following pages in a set order – i.e. information on what units mean, information on the risks of drinking (tailored to their risk category), and comparisons with national drinking levels. The next page for lower risk drinkers will comprise advice that they do not need to cut down and that they should continue to drink within recommended limits. The next page for increasing risk drinkers will include advice on strategies or plans to cut down (see below for further details). The next page for higher risk/possibly dependent drinkers will provide information on alcohol dependence and advice to consult a health professional. The final page will comprise advice on strategies or plans to cut down (see below for further details). The next page for high risk/possibly dependent drinkers will provide information on alcohol dependence and advice to consult a heal CONDITION: Alcohol consumption ; Mental and Behavioural Disorders ; Alcohol consumption PRIMARY OUTCOME: Engagement with the intervention:; 1. Number of pages visited on the intervention website is measured by reviewing web‐usage data (i.e. from a backend database that logs each user's activity on the DBIU website) after completion of the intervention; 2. Total time spent on the intervention website is measured by reviewing web‐usage data (i.e. from a backend database that logs each user's activity on the DBIU website) after completion of the intervention; ; Alcohol consumption: ; Number of units of alcohol consumed in a typical week is measured using a retrospective seven‐day alcohol diary at 6 months. INCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Members of staff at the University of Sheffield 2. Aged 18 years and over SECONDARY OUTCOME: Engagement with the intervention:; 1. Number of strategies/if‐then plans made (by increasing risk and higher risk drinkers) is measured by reviewing web‐usage data (i.e. from a backend database that logs each user's activity on the DBIU website) after completion of the intervention; 2. Viewing an advice video (by high risk/possible dependent drinkers) versus not is measured by reviewing web‐usage data (i.e. from a backend database that logs each user's activity on the DBIU website) after completion of the intervention; ; Alcohol consumption: ; 1. Number of units of alcohol consumed in a typical week is measured using a retrospective seven‐day alcohol diary at 1 month; 2. Number of days drinking in a typical week is measured using a retrospective seven‐day alcohol diary at 1 and 6 months; 3. Mean units of alcohol consumed on a drinking day is measured using a retrospective seven‐day alcohol diary at 1 and 6 months; 4. Peak daily consumption is measured using a retrospective seven‐day alcohol diary at 1 and 6 months; 5. Frequency of binge drinking is measured using a retrospective seven‐day alcohol diary at 1 and 6 months; 6. Hazardous drinking is measured by the AUDIT questionnaire at 6 months