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posted by n1 on Friday March 28 2014, @09:50PM   Printer-friendly
from the for-applications-other-than-dialing-while-intoxicated dept.

Papas Fritas writes:

Mark Prigg reports on a smartphone app for recovering alcoholics that sounds an alert when they get too close to their favorite bars. The app, nicknamed A-CHESS for the Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies, has been deemed a success in initial trials as adults who got free sober smartphones reported fewer drinking days and more overall abstinence than those who got the usual follow-up support. The app contains a range of support facilities, including GPS that triggers when the person gets near a favorite bar. If it seems that they are contemplating entering (such as if they stay near the area), the app will play a pre-recorded confessional video of the patient recounting their experience with alcoholism or a recording of one of their children pleading with them not to drink. The app also includes a panic button that can be programmed to notify peers who are nearest to the patient when the button is pushed. "It does seem a little intrusive, but for people who are really battling with alcoholism, they need a lot of this type of monitoring and ongoing support," says Dr. Scott Krakower. "They do well in controlled settings, but when they leave the center and go back into their environment, they are at risk for relapse."

A clinical trial observed 350 participants recently released from rehabilitation centers, with 52 percent using A-CHESS remaining alcohol-free for the following year. Of those participants who received only traditional support methods, only 40 percent remained alcohol-free. Users of A-CHESS also experienced half the risky drinking days of those who did not. A company is being formed to commercialize the app and A-CHESS could soon become available to the public through Android and Apple stores. Dr. Gail Basch says proven methods for helping prevent relapse include patient monitoring and support from family and peers. "A stand-alone mobile app may not be the answer, but one can see how it could fit in nicely. A real-time tool, as well as reminders throughout the day, could be very helpful for a recovering brain."

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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 28 2014, @10:14PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 28 2014, @10:14PM (#22784)

    How about DumbAssNews, News for Dumb Ass

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Thexalon on Friday March 28 2014, @10:30PM

    by Thexalon (636) on Friday March 28 2014, @10:30PM (#22788) Homepage

    Another recent study found that alcohol might be a good counter to phonoholism. After several beers, phonoholics were significantly more likely to put their phones away long enough to converse with somebody who was actually in the same room as them. Researchers found a significantly slower increase in Candy Crush scores, and loved ones of the research subjects experienced a massive drop in the phonoholic yammering on about nothing in the car.

    --
    Every task is easy if somebody else is doing it.
  • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by lajos on Friday March 28 2014, @10:34PM

    by lajos (528) on Friday March 28 2014, @10:34PM (#22791)

    12 steps. that's what helps alcoholics.

    • (Score: 3) by tathra on Saturday March 29 2014, @01:13PM

      by tathra (3367) on Saturday March 29 2014, @01:13PM (#22918)

      nonsense. even AA openly admits their program only works for something like 30% of people who try it. on the other hand, even bill, the founder of AA, openly admits that LSD can serve as the "inspiration from a higher power" or whatever that can serve as the catalyst for quitting.

      ibogaine [maps.org] and ayahuasca [maps.org] are far more effective than the 12 steps.

      • (Score: 1) by lajos on Saturday March 29 2014, @07:13PM

        by lajos (528) on Saturday March 29 2014, @07:13PM (#22962)

        depends on your willingness of course. what you put in is what you get out.

        still, 30%, much better than what you'll get from that app.

        can't save them all.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 29 2014, @01:37PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 29 2014, @01:37PM (#22923)

      How about some group think, suppression of dissent, enforced conformity, and magical thinking?

      Step 2: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
      Step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God
      Step 6: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
      Step 7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings

      Here are some ways in which AA resembles a cult: http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_a0.html [orange-papers.org]

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 29 2014, @01:40PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 29 2014, @01:40PM (#22925)

      A recent review by the Cochrane Library, a health-care research group, of studies on alcohol treatment conducted between 1966 and 2005 states its results plainly:
      "No experimental studies unequivocally demonstrated the effectiveness of AA or TSF [12-step facilitation] approaches for reducing alcohol dependence or problems."
      We're addicted to rehab. It doesn't even work., By Bankole A. Johnson, The Washington Post, Sunday, August 8, 2010
      http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic le/2010/08/06/AR2010080602660.html [washingtonpost.com]