Digital interventions for substance use disorders in young people: rapid review

Lit review
by
Monarque, Marika, Judith Sabetti & Manuela Ferrari

Release Date

2023

Geography

International

Language of Resource

English

Full Text Available

Yes

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

Yes

Peer Reviewed

Yes

Objective

This review provides an overview of recent literature on the nature of recently published digital interventions for young people in terms of technologies used, substances targeted, intended outcomes and theoretical or therapeutic models employed.

Findings/Key points

While web-based interventions represented the most common type of technology, more recently developed immersive and interactive technologies such as virtual reality and game-based interventions call for further exploration. Digital interventions focused mainly on alcohol use, reflecting less concern for tobacco, cannabis, co-occurring substance use, and illicit drug use. Specifically, the recent exacerbation in the opioid crisis throughout North American underlines the urgent need for more prevention-oriented digital interventions for opioid use. The uptake of digital interventions among youth also depends on the incorporation of harm reduction approaches.

Design/methods

Lit review included 43 articles describing 39 different digital interventions

Keywords

Digital health
Youth