AlcoChange
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Real world implementation of AlcoChange: a smartphone digital therapeutic to improve outcomes from alcohol-related liver disease
IRAS ID
287605
Contact name
Gautam Mehta
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 8 months, 28 days
Research summary
Deaths from liver disease in the UK are rising at an alarming rate, with an increase of 400% since 1970. In the same period, death rates from other major killer diseases, such as heart disease and cancer, have either remained stable or decreased. This is primarily due to increasing alcohol consumption within the population.
Alcohol-related harm costs the NHS more than £3.5 billion each year. Urgent action is needed to deal with liver-related deaths, which can be prevented by reducing alcohol consumption in high-risk patients with liver disease. In hospitals, this is dealt with through Alcohol Care Teams (ACT) reviewing patients admitted with alcohol-related liver disease. However, this level of intervention may not be enough to benefit these high-risk patients. Increasing numbers of patients year-on-year mean ACTs cannot review each patient.
AlcoChange is a smartphone app with an optional breathalyser (breath alcohol meter) that allows self-monitoring of alcohol use, and the app provides motivational messages to encourage people to stay sober. AlcoChange has already been shown to have positive benefits in an initial study carried out at the Royal Free Hospital in London, but still needs to be tested in a much larger trial with a greater number of hospitals and patients.
Our project aims to carry out a clinical trial to assess if AlcoChange can help reduce alcohol consumption in patients with liver disease. This could help us reduce the number of hospital admissions and deaths associated with alcohol-related liver disease. We will also speak to patients and care-providers to examine the actual experiences with AlcoChange – we will use this information to guide how we use AlcoChange within the NHS. The results of our clinical trial will be published, and together with a cost analysis, will support the continued business development of the AlcoChange product.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/NW/0177
Date of REC Opinion
3 Aug 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion