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Decision support in addiction: the development of an e-health tool to assess and prevent risk of fatal overdose, the ORION project

Baldacchino, A.; Crocamo, C.; Humphris, G.; Neufeind, J.; Frisher, M.; Scherbaum, N.; Carrà, G.

Decision support in addiction: the development of an e-health tool to assess and prevent risk of fatal overdose, the ORION project Thumbnail


Authors

A. Baldacchino

C. Crocamo

G. Humphris

J. Neufeind

N. Scherbaum

G. Carrà



Abstract

Background and objective
The application of e-health technology to the field of substance use disorders is at a relatively early stage, and methodological quality is still variable. Few have explored the extent of utilization of communication technology in exploring risk perception by patients enrolled in substance abuse services.

The Overdose RIsk InfOrmatioN (ORION) project is a European Commission funded programme, aimed to develop and pilot an e-health psycho-educational tool to provide information to drug using individuals about the risks of suffering a drug overdose.

Methods
In this article, we report on phase 1 (risk estimation), phase 2 (design), and phase 3 (feasibility) of the ORION project.

Results
The development of ORION e-health tool underlined the importance of an evidence-based intervention aimed in obtaining reliable evaluation of risk. The ORION tool supported a decision making process aimed at influencing the substance users' self-efficacy and the degree to which the substance users' understand risk factors. Therefore, its innovative power consisted in translating risks combination into a clear estimation for the user who will then appear more likely to be interested in his/her risk perception.

Conclusion
Exploratory field testing and validation confirmed the next stage of evaluation, namely, collection of routine patient samples in study clinics. The associations between risk perception of overdose, engagement with the ORION tool and willingness to alter overdose risk factors, in a clinical setting across various EU member states will further confirm the ORION tool's generalisability and effectiveness.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 31, 2016
Online Publication Date Jun 2, 2016
Publication Date 2016-09
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine
Print ISSN 0169-2607
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 133
Pages 207-216
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2016.05.018
Keywords risk; opioids; decision making
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2016.05.018