Mapping, development and evaluation of sustainable models for digitalization of addiction care in social services

As much as every fifth adult Swede may present with a problematic use of alcohol, cannabis or gambling, yet few seek help and when they do, they are likely to meet a fragmented and often confusing care landscape with shared responsibility between social services/care (municipalities) and healthcare (regions) and large difference in treatment access over time and space.

Digitalized care appears to be an attractive solution to these issues and recent years have seen an impressive development on the healthcare side, yet structural obstacles have hindered a similar development in social services. The proposed project aims to map, develop, implement and evaluate solutions to these well-known but standing issues.

In Study I, we will use survey and complementary interviews with social services offices around the country to systematically map obstacles and opportunities for digitalizing addiction care; in parallel, a similar study will be conducted with individuals with addictions to reveal discrepancies between sought-after and provided care.

Study II is a randomized controlled trial examining whether it is possible to address misconceptions about social services through a digital micro-intervention.

Finally, in Study III, a cluster-randomized trial will examine the feasibility and effectiveness of offering digital addiction treatments – originally developed and evaluated in a healthcare setting – now within social services, as an add-on to typical care. A complementary qualitative study on user experiences is also included.

In sum, these three studies will give valuable new insights into the well-known but standing societal problem of offering equal addiction care, and develop, implement and evaluate cost-effective, future-proof and sustainable solutions to this problem by taking full advantage of the benefits of digitalization.