TY - JOUR
T1 - Optimizing digital tools for the field of substance use and substance use disorders
T2 - backcasting exercise
AU - Scheibein, Florian
AU - Caballeria, Elsa
AU - Taher, Md Abu
AU - Arya, Sidharth
AU - Bancroft, Angus
AU - Dannatt, Lisa
AU - De Kock, Charlotte
AU - Chaudhary, Nazish Idrees
AU - Gayo, Roberto Perez
AU - Ghosh, Abhishek
AU - Gelberg, Lillian
AU - Goos, Cees
AU - Gordon, Rebecca
AU - Gual, Antoni
AU - Hill, Penelope
AU - Jeziorska, Iga
AU - Kurcevič, Eliza
AU - Lakhov, Aleksey
AU - Maharjan, Ishwor
AU - Matrai, Silvia
AU - Morgan, Nirvana
AU - Paraskevopoulos, Ilias
AU - Puharić, Zrinka
AU - Sibeko, Goodman
AU - Stola, Jan
AU - Tiburcio, Marcela
AU - Tay Wee Teck, Joseph
AU - Tsereteli, Zaza
AU - López-Pelayo, Hugo
N1 - This paper received funding through the Inter·GLAM project, which was co-funded under the European Union’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers Justice Programme “Drugs Policy Initiatives—Supporting initiatives in the field of drugs policy” (JUST-2019-AG-DRUGS) from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2023 (grant 957776).
PY - 2023/12/12
Y1 - 2023/12/12
N2 - Background: Substance use
trends are complex; they often rapidly evolve and necessitate an
intersectional approach in research, service, and policy making. Current
and emerging digital tools related to substance use are promising but
also create a range of challenges and opportunities.Objective: This
paper reports on a backcasting exercise aimed at the development of a
roadmap that identifies values, challenges, facilitators, and milestones
to achieve optimal use of digital tools in the substance use field by
2030.Methods: A
backcasting exercise method was adopted, wherein the core elements are
identifying key values, challenges, facilitators, milestones,
cornerstones and a current, desired, and future scenario. A structured
approach was used by means of (1) an Open Science Framework page as a
web-based collaborative working space and (2) key stakeholders’
collaborative engagement during the 2022 Lisbon Addiction Conference.Results: The
identified key values were digital rights, evidence-based tools,
user-friendliness, accessibility and availability, and
person-centeredness. The key challenges identified were ethical funding,
regulations, commercialization, best practice models, digital literacy,
and access or reach. The key facilitators identified were scientific
research, interoperable infrastructure and a culture of innovation,
expertise, ethical funding, user-friendly designs, and digital rights
and regulations. A range of milestones were identified. The overarching
identified cornerstones consisted of creating ethical frameworks,
increasing access to digital tools, and continuous trend analysis.Conclusions: The
use of digital tools in the field of substance use is linked to a range
of risks and opportunities that need to be managed. The current
trajectories of the use of such tools are heavily influenced by large
multinational for-profit companies with relatively little involvement of
key stakeholders such as people who use drugs, service providers, and
researchers. The current funding models are problematic and lack the
necessary flexibility associated with best practice business approaches
such as lean and agile principles to design and execute customer
discovery methods. Accessibility and availability, digital rights,
user-friendly design, and person-focused approaches should be at the
forefront in the further development of digital tools. Global
legislative and technical infrastructures by means of a global action
plan and strategy are necessary and should include ethical frameworks,
accessibility of digital tools for substance use, and continuous trend
analysis as cornerstones.
AB - Background: Substance use
trends are complex; they often rapidly evolve and necessitate an
intersectional approach in research, service, and policy making. Current
and emerging digital tools related to substance use are promising but
also create a range of challenges and opportunities.Objective: This
paper reports on a backcasting exercise aimed at the development of a
roadmap that identifies values, challenges, facilitators, and milestones
to achieve optimal use of digital tools in the substance use field by
2030.Methods: A
backcasting exercise method was adopted, wherein the core elements are
identifying key values, challenges, facilitators, milestones,
cornerstones and a current, desired, and future scenario. A structured
approach was used by means of (1) an Open Science Framework page as a
web-based collaborative working space and (2) key stakeholders’
collaborative engagement during the 2022 Lisbon Addiction Conference.Results: The
identified key values were digital rights, evidence-based tools,
user-friendliness, accessibility and availability, and
person-centeredness. The key challenges identified were ethical funding,
regulations, commercialization, best practice models, digital literacy,
and access or reach. The key facilitators identified were scientific
research, interoperable infrastructure and a culture of innovation,
expertise, ethical funding, user-friendly designs, and digital rights
and regulations. A range of milestones were identified. The overarching
identified cornerstones consisted of creating ethical frameworks,
increasing access to digital tools, and continuous trend analysis.Conclusions: The
use of digital tools in the field of substance use is linked to a range
of risks and opportunities that need to be managed. The current
trajectories of the use of such tools are heavily influenced by large
multinational for-profit companies with relatively little involvement of
key stakeholders such as people who use drugs, service providers, and
researchers. The current funding models are problematic and lack the
necessary flexibility associated with best practice business approaches
such as lean and agile principles to design and execute customer
discovery methods. Accessibility and availability, digital rights,
user-friendly design, and person-focused approaches should be at the
forefront in the further development of digital tools. Global
legislative and technical infrastructures by means of a global action
plan and strategy are necessary and should include ethical frameworks,
accessibility of digital tools for substance use, and continuous trend
analysis as cornerstones.
KW - Substance use
KW - Substance use disorder
KW - Addictions
KW - Telemedicine
KW - eHealth
KW - Digital tools
KW - Backcasting exercise
KW - Drug addiction
KW - Ethical frameworks
KW - Digital health
U2 - 10.2196/46678
DO - 10.2196/46678
M3 - Article
C2 - 38085569
SN - 2292-9495
VL - 10
JO - JMIR Human Factors
JF - JMIR Human Factors
M1 - e46678
ER -