The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the digital divide and limited access to alcohol-related treatments among marginalized communities, specifically individuals with lived experience of homelessness. Based on the HaRRT Center’s Harm Reduction Treatment for Alcohol (HaRT-A) study, eHaRT-A will use innovative methods (i.e., user-centered design plus a community based participatory research framework) to adapt this in-person intervention into a telehealth platform that can then be tested within Downtown Emergency Services Center (DESC), permanent supportive housing facilities around Seattle.

Led by Tessa Frohe, PhD, the eHaRT-A will be delivered through telehealth stations set up within secure rooms near common areas in the DESC houses and tested to see if residents experience any positive changes related to their quality of life or reduced substance-related consequences.

Phase one included a pilot study conducted with 19 residents who have a relationship with alcohol. They each completed a one-time assessment interview, and their feedback was used to iteratively change the eHaRT-A platform until it was deemed as usable and acceptable by the participants. Phase two is to conduct a Randomized Control Trial comparing the eHaRT-A intervention to usual DESC on-site services – basic needs, nursing, case management, etc. – based on assessments of alcohol and health related quality of life outcomes.

If successful, future efforts should focus on implementing telehealth stations across DESC to improve residents’ access to digital healthcare resources. As healthcare continues to move more services online, it is essential to understand ways to successfully adapt and implement rigorously tested telehealth treatment services for marginalized communities to ameliorate alcohol-related harms and improve quality of life.