Using a multi-module web-app to prevent substance use among students at a Hispanic Serving Institution: development and evaluation design

BACKGROUND: Despite effective strategies to prevent substance use and substance use disorders among college students, challenges remain. As young adults’ preference for and comfortability with web-based technology continues to increase, leveraging innovative approaches to rapidly evolving mHealth technology is critical for the success of lowering the risk for substance use and related consequences in college populations, and especially those at Hispanic Serving Institutions. Therefore, the present study describes the rationale, development, and design of iSTART, a novel web-app to prevent substance use among students. METHODS: The web-app was developed following the intervention mapping protocol, and in collaboration with numerous stakeholders, including a community-based partner specializing in substance abuse prevention and treatment. A 30-day multi-module web-app intervention was developed based on key theoretical constructs, behavior change strategies, and practical module components: attitudes (knowledge), perceived susceptibility (risk perceptions), subjective norms (normative re-education), and self-efficacy (refusal skills). This intervention will be evaluated via a time series design using a sample of 600 students randomly assigned to either the intervention, comparison, or control condition at a public institution in southern California. DISCUSSION: The iSTART web-app is an innovative and sustainable program ideal for college campuses with diverse student populations. If this prevention web-app is successful, it will significantly contribute to the evidence of effective substance use interventions in the college setting, and identify the benefits of mHealth programs to prevent future substance use. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT05362357 retrospectively registered on May 4, 2022 on clinicaltrials.gov.