A new smartphone app called A-CHESS may help alcoholics overcome their addiction, according to research conducted at the University of Wisconsin. The study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, found that participants using the application were 65% more likely to abstain from alcohol.
A-CHESS has several features: peer-to-peer messaging and discussion forums among A-CHESS users, guided-relaxation audio and video-chat with counselors. A GPS system in the phone can detect when a subject nears a high risk area like a familiar bar.
"These sort of systems have enormous potential," said lead author David Gustafson, a professor of industrial engineering and preventive medicine at the University of Wisconsin. "They are going to allow us to turn around not only addiction treatment, but the whole field of health care."
The study also found that A-CHESS users experienced fewer risky drinking days (days in which drinking exceeded four standard drinks for men and three for women in a two-hour period), than their counterparts who underwent traditional treatments.
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