Wearable alcohol monitors for alcohol use data collection among college students: Feasibility and acceptability

• Published in: Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) Vol. 111; pp. 75 - 83
• Main Authors: Rosenberg, Molly, Kianersi, Sina, Luetke, Maya, Jozkowski, Kristen, Guerra-Reyes, Lucia, Shih, Patrick C., Finn, Peter, Ludema, Christina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.09.2023; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Abstinence; Acceptability; Alcohol biosensor; Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology; Alcohol use; College students; Colleges & universities; Data Collection; Drinking behavior; Enrollments; Ethanol; Feasibility; Feasibility Studies; Human subjects; Humans; Psychiatric/Mental Health; Sample size; Sensors; Smartphones; Students; Transdermal alcohol content; University students; Wearable alcohol monitors; Wearable computers; Wearable Electronic Devices; Indiana; United States > US; Wearable alcohol monitors; College students; Feasibility; Transdermal alcohol content; Alcohol biosensor; Acceptability
• ISSN: 0741-8329; 1873-6823; 1873-6823
• DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2023.05.007

We assessed the feasibility and acceptability of using BACtrack Skyn wearable alcohol monitors for alcohol research in a college student population. We enrolled n = 5 (Sample 1) and n = 84 (Sample 2) Indiana University undergraduate students to wear BACtrack Skyn devices continuously over a 5-day to 7-day study period. We assessed feasibility in both samples by calculating compliance with study procedures, and by analyzing amount and distributions of device output [e.g., transdermal alcohol content (TAC), temperature, motion]. In Sample 1, we assessed feasibility and acceptability with the Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM) scale and the Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM) scale. All participants were able to successfully use the alcohol monitors, producing a total of 11,504 h of TAC data. TAC data were produced on 567 days of the 602 total possible days of data collection. The distribution of the TAC data showed between-person variation, as would be expected with between-person differences in drinking patterns. Temperature and motion data were also produced as expected. Sample 1 participants (n = 5) reported high feasibility and acceptability of the wearable alcohol monitors in survey responses with a mean FIM score of 4.3 (of 5.0 possible score) and mean AIM score of 4.3 (of 5.0 possible score). The high feasibility and acceptability we observed underscore the promise of using BACtrack Skyn wearable alcohol monitors to improve our understanding of alcohol consumption among college students, a population at particularly high risk for alcohol-related harms. •BACtrack Skyn wearable alcohol devices were feasible and acceptable for use among college students.•Data were collected over 5–7 days in naturalistic drinking environments.•High feasibility and acceptability were observed in survey responses and operational measures.