Summary

Excess alcohol consumption is the second most important risk factor for avoidable long term conditions and premature mortality in the UK, with 8 million adults in England drinking over current guidelines for safe alcohol consumption. Excess alcohol consumption is a highly tractable behaviour, but treatment availability is limited by costs and lack of trained staff. Online alcohol treatments may help overcome these barriers.

The DIAMOND study will determine the feasibility of a definitive trial to compare the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of supported access to a web-based alcohol intervention (HeLP-Alcohol; Healthy Living for People who drink Alcohol) with traditional face to face treatment.

The DIAMOND feasibility study will be rolled out in Islington, Camden and Haringey. Following this we will apply for external funding to conduct a randomised controlled trial to establish whether an online intervention is as effective as, and more cost-effective than, traditional face-to-face counselling for alcohol.

The results of this project will benefit patients by providing an accessible web-based intervention to help patients who are drinking excessively to cut down their alcohol intake.

Click on the image below to watch a short film introducing the project featuring Principal Investigator Professor Elizabeth Murray and our research team

Principal investigator: Professor Elizabeth Murray, University College London

Other project team members: Jo Hornby, University College London; Fiona Hamilton, University College London

Start date and duration: April 2014, three years

Partners and collaborators involved: University College London; Islington, Camden and Haringey Clinical Commissioning Groups; Camden, Islington and Haringey Local Authorities, Barts Health NHS Trust