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B-SMART: RESULTS OF A WEB APP FOR DWI OFFENDER FAMILIES

B-SMART: RESULTS OF A WEB APP FOR DWI OFFENDER FAMILIES

Driving while intoxicated (DWI) remains a preventable source of morbidity and mortality in the United States. The Ignition Interlock Device (IID) requires a driver to blow into a breathalyzer installed in a vehicle to establish sobriety and reduces drunk driving while installed. The use of IIDs has become widespread. Most states now require DWI offenders to install IIDs in their cars. 

However, once IIDs are removed, DWI recidivism levels return to those similar to offenders who had no IID installed. The B-SMART app has been systematically developed for DWI offenders and their Concerned Family Members (CFMs) to extend non-intoxicated driving beyond the IID installation period. 

B-SMART Module Topics

  • Life with the Interlock – orientation to Ignition Interlock Devices
  • Family processes to support changes in drinking
  • Effective communication skills for families
  • Finding family activities that do not involve alcohol 

Results of a randomized trial of the B-SMART app on a variety of alcohol consumption, IID, and family communication variables were reported by Dr. W. Gill Woodall, Klein Buendel Senior Scientist, at the 46th Annual Research Society on Alcohol Scientific Meeting held in Bellevue, Washington on June 24-28, 2023.

Study participants, who were pairs of DWI Offenders and CFMs, were randomly assigned to receive the B-SMART web app or an available IID information page from the New Mexico Department of Transportation (Usual and Customary/UC condition). Participants were assessed at baseline, 3 months, and 9 months. 

Analyses of alcohol consumption variables yielded two results on alcohol quantity frequency with available data. For average drinks per day during the last 30 days at the 3-month assessment, a near significant between groups difference was detected such that client participants in the UC group reported significantly higher drinks per day when drinking than B-SMART intervention client participants. A second alcohol consumption effect was found for reported average drinks per week, where UC participants reported increasing average weekly drinking from baseline to 3-month follow-up, while intervention participants reported no significant change in average drinks per week from baseline to 3-month follow-up. Results suggest that the B-SMART app may improve outcomes for DWI offender families.

This research was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA022850; Dr. W. Gill Woodall, Principal Investigator). Dr. Woodall’s scientific collaborators include Dr. Barbara McCrady and Dr. Vern Westerberg from the University of New Mexico, and Ms. Julia Berteletti, Ms. Marita Brooks, and Ms. Lila Martinez from Klein Buendel.

New Study to Assess the Impact of California’s Mandatory Responsible Beverage Service Training Law

New Study to Assess the Impact of California’s Mandatory Responsible Beverage Service Training Law

Klein Buendel is collaborating with Dr. Robert Saltz and his team from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) in California on a new research project to assess the impact of California’s new mandatory Responsible Beverage Service training law intended to prevent alcohol-involved motor vehicle crashes and other harms.  

Intoxicated driving continues to play a significant role in automobile accidents and fatalities. In response, California passed the Responsible Beverage Service Training Act of 2017. According to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the law requires alcoholic beverage servers in California to attend responsible beverage service (RBS) training by July 1, 2022. Alcoholic beverage servers will be trained on the dangers of overserving alcohol to patrons in an effort to curb alcohol-related harm within local communities, particularly in regards to drunk driving and alcohol-related crimes. This change in law creates a new statewide mandate for licensees and a new training requirement for an estimated 1 million servers.

The new research study will examine whether there is a significant reduction in single nighttime motor vehicle injury crashes after implementation of the mandatory RBS training law, controlling for other factors in California that may influence this outcome, and the national trend in fatal alcohol-involved motor vehicle crashes. A second aim will address the question of whether the state mandate could have greater impact through wider use of high-quality evidence-based RBS training, or through RBS training supplemented by boosting management motivation to support the training objectives. The training program that will be implemented is the WayToServe® (WTS) online RBS training program developed and evaluated by PIRE, Klein Buendel, and the University of New Mexico. Currently, WTS is licensed to and sold by Wedge Communications LLC in multiple states.

A randomized controlled trial design will be used to examine the change in the refusal rate for alcohol service to pseudo-intoxicated patrons in a sample of 450 licensed on-premises bars and restaurants from 2020 (baseline) to 2024 (post-implementation of mandatory RBS training law). The evaluation will determine whether any change is more pronounced among bars that receive the original WTS RBS Training or the enhanced WTS Training Plus program. A significant feature of this design is that unlike previous evaluations of RBS training, this project will be able to document both short-term and long-term outcomes.  This is especially important for a statewide implementation where it cannot be known in advance how quickly or slowly servers will undertake the training, and how quickly, if at all, the training will have an effect on server behavior.

This research project will be funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Dr. Robert Saltz, Principal Investigator). Collaborators include Dr. David Buller and Dr. W. Gill Woodall from Klein Buendel.

B-SMART Study Launches at KB

B-SMART Study Launches at KB

Klein Buendel (KB) Senior Scientist, Dr. Gill Woodall, is the Principal Investigator leading a new research project aimed at reducing intoxicated driving by people with court-ordered ignition interlock devices (IIDs) through improved communication and support from family members.

Driving while intoxicated (DWI) remains a substantial and preventable source of morbidity and mortality in the U.S. The IID, which requires a driver to blow into a breathalyzer unit installed in an automobile to establish sobriety, reduces drunk driving while installed. However, research has shown that once IIDs are removed from DWI offenders’ cars, DWI recidivism levels return to those comparable to offenders who did not have an IID installed.

This new project will fully develop and evaluate B-SMART — smartphone technology to teach coping skills, communication skills, and strategies to help deter DWI. Unique to this intervention are the involvement of family members in supporting the DWI offender to not drink and drive, English and Spanish language options, and the use of smartphone technology to make that support immediate, accessible, and diffusible. The core content of the intervention is based on empirically-validated couples therapy curriculum developed by Dr. Barbara McCrady from the University of New Mexico. It will be adapted for concerned DWI offender family members and delivered through a convenient smartphone web app platform. Programming and usability testing will be done by KB designers and developers.

Results of a Phase I feasibility study of an initial module of B-SMART presented at the Research Society on Alcoholism by Dr. Woodall in 2016, showed very positive reactions by users. Thirty-two concerned family members of DWI offenders browsed the communication skills module of B-SMART and then rated the module on the System Usability Scale (SUS – Bangor, et al., 2011). Results indicated an average SUS rating of 44.2 (sd=4.78, scale range: 10-50), with 87% of participants rating the B-SMART module 40 or above. These results indicate that users found the prototype B-SMART module easy to use, informative, and very positive.

For the new Phase II evaluation, a randomized efficacy trial will be conducted with DWI offenders and their concerned family members recruited through the New Mexico court system. The research is funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R44AA022850) through the Small Business Innovation Research Program. Dr. Woodall’s scientific collaborators include Ms. Julia Berteletti from KB, Dr. Barbara McCrady and Dr. Vern Westerberg from the University of New Mexico, and Dr. Gary Cutter from Pythagorus, Inc. in Alabama.