Clinical Research Directory

The enhanced usual care will receive standard surgical care, and a resource brochure including basic information on health, alcohol use withdrawal risks, and treatment/emergency resources. The resource brochure will be e-mailed to patients or sent via postal mail.

Preoperative Virtual Coaching is based on principles of health coaching, collaborative care, and motivational interviewing. Health and educational content is framed using the Health Belief Model. During two sessions, that take place approximately 3 and 5 weeks prior to surgery, the health coach presents alcohol use reduction/abstinence as important for surgical health (rather than addiction or chronic health reasons) and engages participants in discussion and patient-centered goal-setting. Participants will also receive a brochure including basic information on health, alcohol use withdrawal risks, and treatment/emergency resources.

This group will receive standard post-operative care.

Postoperative Virtual Coaching uses the same framework and structure as Preoperative Virtual Coaching. These sessions will be delivered by a health coach using a collaborative, and motivational interviewing-based approach. The goal of these sessions is to promote well-being and help participants maintain alcohol abstinence or reduction long-term (or initiate change in alcohol use if they have not already). These sessions promote low-risk alcohol use, provide education on chronic health effects of heavy alcohol use, and teach skills for coping with or avoiding triggers for alcohol use including coping with stress and mood challenges. These sessions introduce skills to help participants manage alcohol, stress, and mood as they recover from surgery.

On-Track is a mobile and web-accessible health tool that uses self-monitoring and provision of feedback on progress towards goals to engage participants in self-management of alcohol use and motivate behavior change through increased self-awareness and accountability for health. The On-Track application includes a) daily tracking of alcohol and other substance use; b) daily tracking of stress, mood, and pain; c) personalized health goals; and d) visual displays of alcohol use, stress, mood, pain, and goal achievement including graphs of trends over time. On-Track also uses novel monetary and non-monetary incentives to encourage utilization including an escalating monetary incentive schedule for self-monitoring.