Web-based Alcohol Prevention Intervention among Iranian Male Students of Universities of Medical Sciences: a Randomized Control Trial

Aim: The present study was conducted to evaluate web-based alcohol drinking preventative intervention efficiency among male students of universities of medical sciences in Iran. Methods: Overall, 150 newcomer and sophomore male college students participated in this study into two groups of intervention and control. This research was a longitudinal randomized pre-test and post-test series of control group design panel study to examine a behavior-modification-based intervention to alcohol drinking prevention among college students. Cross-tabulation, t-test, repeated measures, and GEE tests were used for statistical analyses performed in SPSS 21. The participants were followed up for 6 months with data collection scheduled at baseline, 1, 3, and 6 months. The primary outcomes were attitude, self-control, and sensation-seeking. Furthermore, the secondary outcome was comparing alcohol drinking among the studied groups. Finding: A significant reduction was found in mean values of response to attitude towards alcohol drinking and sensation-seeking among intervention group (P<0.05). However, after intervention, no significant difference was observed between intervention and control group in improvement of self-control and alcohol drinking reduction (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The intervention was followed by reduced alcohol consumption rate. This finding indicates that e-intervention may be an effective approach to addressing the alcohol consumption prevention among college students.