April 24, 2025

Remote interventions for alcohol or drug use disorder led to a 39% reduction in the likelihood of relapse when supplementing in-person care, according to a meta-analysis of 34 randomized controlled trials of 42 relapse prevention interventions. Compared to in-person care alone, supplemental remote relapse prevention interventions also led to a 0.18-day reduction in the number of days of substance use. When the remote interventions partially or fully replaced in-person care, the risk of relapse was 49% lower, and there was a small reduction in the number of days of substance use, but the reduction could have been due to chance.

In the clinical trials, remote interventions were delivered via the internet, text messages, apps, phone calls, interactive voice response systems, and a computer game. They were used to supplement in-person care or to partially or fully replace in-person care.

The researchers determined that remote interventions that are delivered as a supplementary component of in-person alcohol or drug treatment appear to be an effective approach to reducing the likelihood of relapse and days of substance use. However, it is unknown whether replacing or partially replacing in-person treatment with remote interventions would be effective.

These findings were presented in “How Effective Are Remote And/Or Digital Interventions As Part Of Alcohol And Drug Treatment And Recovery Support? A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis,” by Irene Kwan, Helen Elizabeth, Denise Burchett, Wendy Macdowall, and colleagues. The researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 34 randomized controlled trials involving 6,461 participants. The clinical trials evaluated 42 remote interventions for adults diagnosed with alcohol or drug use disorder. The interventions were delivered via the internet, text messages, apps, phone calls, interactive voice response, and a computer game. The researchers grouped the interventions based on whether the intervention was used to supplement, partially replace, or fully replace in-person care. The goal was to determine the effectiveness of remote drug/alcohol interventions for people in treatment.

The full text of “How Effective Are Remote And/Or Digital Interventions As Part Of Alcohol And Drug Treatment And Recovery Support? A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis” was published March 24, 2025, by Addiction. A free abstract is available online at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.70021 (accessed April 17, 2025).

For more information, contact: Irene Kwan, Research Fellow, EPPI Centre, Social Research Institute, University College London, Gower Street, London United Kingdom; WC1E 6BT; Email: i.kwan@ucl.ac.uk; Website: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/48792-irene-kwan