Biomedical subjects

Joanne Cordingley

Publications and source records attributed to Joanne Cordingley.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Beliefs about drinking problems: results from a general population telephone survey.

As part of a general population telephone survey (N=3006), respondents were asked their beliefs about alcohol problems. The majority of respondents were skeptical about the possibility of untreated and of moderate drinking recoveries. The predominant conceptions of the nature of alcohol problems were those of a disease or of drug addiction. Beliefs about the need for treatment and abstinence were positively associated with being female, older, and married. Current heavy drinkers were less likely to believe that treatment was needed. Former heavy drinkers were more likely to believe that abstinence was required, as compared to all other respondents.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Motivating smoking reductions by framing health information as safer smoking tips.

Explored the hypothesis that framing health information as safer smoking tips might motivate change in cigarette smokers. Daily smokers were randomly assigned to a control condition or to an intervention condition in which respondents were asked if they knew about a range of different safer smoking tips. Respondents (43 daily smokers, 18 years or older, 58% male) who received safer smoking tips reported a small reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked (p=.05) by the 3-month follow-up as compared to respondents in the control condition. This pilot result is encouraging but requires replication before considering the value of including safer smoking tips in health messages for smokers in the general population.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Current heavy drinkers' reasons for considering change: results from a natural history general population survey.

Current heavy drinkers were recruited from a general population random-digit dialing telephone survey. Comparisons were made between those who were considering or not considering change. Those considering reducing or quitting their drinking in the next 6 months were asked their reasons for considering change. Respondents considering change had more severe alcohol problems and perceived more risk associated with their drinking as compared with those not considering change. The most common reasons for considering change were health and financial concerns.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Internet and paper self-help materials for problem drinking: is there an additive effect?

The objective of this study was to conduct a preliminary evaluation of an Internet-based intervention for problem drinkers, comparing changes in drinking between respondents who only received the intervention to those who also received a self-help book. After receiving a personalized feedback summary on the Internet, 83 respondents provided complete baseline information and volunteered to participate in a 3-month follow-up survey. Half of the respondents were randomized to receive an additional self-help book. The follow-up was returned by 48 respondents (69% female). Repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted to compare drinking levels at baseline and 3-month follow-up among respondents who only received the Internet-based intervention. There was minimal support for an impact of the Internet intervention alone. In addition, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to compare respondents in the two intervention conditions on their drinking at follow-up, controlling for baseline consumption. Respondents who received the additional self-help book reported drinking less and experiencing fewer consequences at follow-up as compared to respondents who received only the Internet-based intervention. While the results are promising, they cannot be taken as evidence of the efficacy of Internet-based personalized feedback as a stand-alone intervention because of the absence of a control group that did not receive the intervention. Further research on this topic should be a priority because of the potential for Internet-based interventions to reach problem drinkers underserved by traditional treatment.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Using collaterals to validate self-reports of problem drinkers: any impact on client attrition and quantity of drinking reported?

OBJECTIVE: To explore the impact of asking for a collateral on respondent attrition and the impact of providing versus not providing a collateral on self-reported drinking. METHOD: As part of a larger trial assessing the efficacy of self-help materials for problem drinkers, respondents were randomly assigned to be asked or not asked to provide a collateral at the time of their 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: While there was no significant impact of client attrition, respondents who were asked for a collateral and provided one reported higher levels of alcohol consumption at the 6-month follow-up as compared to those who were asked for a collateral but did not provide one. CONCLUSIONS: Providing a collateral may have an impact on respondent's self-reported drinking. Alternate explanations for this finding are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Treating alcohol problems with self-help materials: a population study.

OBJECTIVE: An experimental trial was used to assess the effectiveness of a self-help book and a personalized assessment-feedback intervention, both separately and in combination with each other, in a general population survey. METHOD: Participants (N = 86; 66.3% male) were recruited through a random digit dialing telephone survey conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of four conditions in a two-by-two factorial design: "no-intervention" control group, "personalized feedback only," "self-help book only" and "both personalized feedback and self-help book." Respondents were followed up in 6 months' time, and differences in drinking status were compared between experimental conditions using a multivariate analysis of covariance with baseline drinking severity as the covariate. RESULTS: Support was provided for an interaction hypothesis in which respondents who received both interventions reported significantly improved drinking outcomes at 6-month follow-up, compared with respondents who received just one of the interventions or who received no intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Because respondents were recruited from a representative sample of the general population into a randomized trial with a no-intervention control group, this research design maximized both external and internal validity in examining the effectiveness of self-help interventions.

Alcohol Drinking↗