BACKGROUND
The first UK COVID-19 lockdown had a polarising impact on drinking behaviour and may have impacted engagement with digital interventions to reduce alcohol consumption.
OBJECTIVE
We examined the effect of lockdown on engagement, alcohol reduction and the socio-demographic characteristics among users of the popular and widely available alcohol reduction app, Drink Less.
METHODS
A natural experiment. The study period spanned 468 days between 24/03/2019 and 03/07/2020, with the introduction of UK lockdown measures beginning on 24/03/2020. Users were 18+ years, based in the UK and interested in drinking less. Interrupted time series analyses using Generalised Additive Mixed Models were conducted for each outcome variable (i.e., socio-demographic characteristics, app downloads and engagement levels, alcohol consumption, and extent of alcohol reduction) for existing (downloaded the app pre-lockdown) and new (downloaded the app post-lockdown) users of the app.
RESULTS
Among existing users of the Drink Less app, there were increases in time spent on app (B=.01, P=.012), mean units of alcohol recorded per day (B>.00 P=.022) and mean heavy drinking (>6 units) days (B>.00 P=.019) post-lockdown. Previous declines in new app downloads plateaued post-lockdown (IRR=1.00, P=.182). Among new app users, there was an increase in the proportion of female users (B>.00, P=.037) and those at risk of alcohol dependence (B>.00, P=.006), and a decrease in the proportion of non-manual workers (B>-.00, P=.043). Among new app users, there were step increases in the mean number of alcohol units (B=20.12, P=.032), heavy drinking days (B=1.38, P=.010) and the number of days the app was used (B=2.05, P=.019), alongside a step decrease in the percentage of available screens viewed (B=-0.03, P=.035).
CONCLUSIONS
Following the first UK lockdown, there was evidence of increases in engagement and alcohol consumption among new and existing users of the Drink Less app.
CLINICALTRIAL
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