The effectiveness of electronically delivered interventions (E-interventions) for alcohol use among young people

The use of alcohol amongst young people presents a significant health and economic burden worldwide. There is a need for prevention and early intervention programs to target alcohol use in young people. This paper aimed to review studies of electronically delivered interventions (E-interventions) for alcohol use in adolescents and young adults, and considered the effect of intervention duration and age on outcomes. A search was conducted on the 8th July 2018 of electronic databases (MEDLINE; CENTRAL; CINAHL; PsychINFO; EMBASE; SCOPUS, and Web of Science). Results suggest that E-interventions are effective in lowering the total amount of alcohol consumed, and the frequency of risky alcohol consumption, but effects were inconclusive for drinking frequency. Subgroup analyses suggests E-interventions to effect a small but significant reduction in the Frequency of Risky Alcohol Consumption amongst participants under 18-year-old. All other subgroups (categorised by intervention duration and age) and treatment outcome combinations yielded insignificant findings. The magnitude and direction of certain summary effects, however, suggests merit in further research. Future studies need focus on sidelined populations and exploring mechanisms underlying the new wave of unguided E-interventions