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Digital health interventions for women in frontline public service roles: A systematic review of effectiveness in reducing substance use

Grace Williamson Orcid Logo, Toslima Khatun Orcid Logo, Kate King, Amos Simms, Simon Dymond Orcid Logo, Laura Goodwin, Ewan Carr, Nicola T. Fear, Dominic Murphy, Daniel Leightley Orcid Logo

PLOS Digital Health, Volume: 5, Issue: 1, Start page: e0001154

Swansea University Author: Simon Dymond Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1371/journal.pdig.0001154

Abstract

Frontline occupations, including military, healthcare, and first responders, often include frequent exposure to traumatic events, increasing the risk of substance use disorders (SUDs). Research has shown that those in high-intensity occupations are at higher risk of developing SUDs compared to the g...

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Published in: PLOS Digital Health
ISSN: 2767-3170
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71209
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Women face unique experiences related to substance use, including greater functional impairment and barriers to treatment access. Yet, understanding of the effectiveness of digital health technologies in addressing substance use among women in frontline occupations is limited. This systematic review evaluates the effectiveness of digital health interventions in reducing substance use among women in frontline roles. Four databases (PsycINFO, Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, PsycArticles) were searched for English language full-text articles (2007&#x2013;2024) that (1) evaluated a digital intervention designed to reduce substance use, (2) reported changes in substance use outcomes such as frequency, intensity or duration, using validated tools (3) included current or former frontline public service workers, and (4) included women as the primary target population or as a subgroup within the sample. 13 papers met inclusion criteria, focusing on eight distinct web and mobile-based interventions for alcohol, tobacco and illicit substances. Most studies (n&#x2009;=&#x2009;11) reported substantial post-intervention reductions in alcohol and tobacco use, although results for PTSD symptoms, illicit drug use, and quality of life were mixed. This review highlights the potential of digital health interventions for reducing substance use but underscores significant gaps in research. The scarcity of studies focused on women, small and heterogeneous samples, and focus on veterans limits the generalisability to women in frontline roles. These gaps present a pressing challenge in understanding gender-specific digital intervention efficacy. 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spelling 2026-02-04T12:11:50.3975604 v2 71209 2026-01-08 Digital health interventions for women in frontline public service roles: A systematic review of effectiveness in reducing substance use 8ed0024546f2588fdb0073a7d6fbc075 0000-0003-1319-4492 Simon Dymond Simon Dymond true false 2026-01-08 PSYS Frontline occupations, including military, healthcare, and first responders, often include frequent exposure to traumatic events, increasing the risk of substance use disorders (SUDs). Research has shown that those in high-intensity occupations are at higher risk of developing SUDs compared to the general population. Women face unique experiences related to substance use, including greater functional impairment and barriers to treatment access. Yet, understanding of the effectiveness of digital health technologies in addressing substance use among women in frontline occupations is limited. This systematic review evaluates the effectiveness of digital health interventions in reducing substance use among women in frontline roles. Four databases (PsycINFO, Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, PsycArticles) were searched for English language full-text articles (2007–2024) that (1) evaluated a digital intervention designed to reduce substance use, (2) reported changes in substance use outcomes such as frequency, intensity or duration, using validated tools (3) included current or former frontline public service workers, and (4) included women as the primary target population or as a subgroup within the sample. 13 papers met inclusion criteria, focusing on eight distinct web and mobile-based interventions for alcohol, tobacco and illicit substances. Most studies (n = 11) reported substantial post-intervention reductions in alcohol and tobacco use, although results for PTSD symptoms, illicit drug use, and quality of life were mixed. This review highlights the potential of digital health interventions for reducing substance use but underscores significant gaps in research. The scarcity of studies focused on women, small and heterogeneous samples, and focus on veterans limits the generalisability to women in frontline roles. These gaps present a pressing challenge in understanding gender-specific digital intervention efficacy. Future research should prioritise larger, representative samples of women across diverse frontline occupations to drive the development of digital technologies tailored to the unique challenges faced by women in these roles. Journal Article PLOS Digital Health 5 1 e0001154 Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2767-3170 6 1 2026 2026-01-06 10.1371/journal.pdig.0001154 COLLEGE NANME Psychology School COLLEGE CODE PSYS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee This study was funded by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA; G2-SCH-2022-11-12241 to DL) 2026-02-04T12:11:50.3975604 2026-01-08T09:59:50.2843897 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Psychology Grace Williamson 0000-0002-4618-5819 1 Toslima Khatun 0000-0003-1514-8924 2 Kate King 3 Amos Simms 4 Simon Dymond 0000-0003-1319-4492 5 Laura Goodwin 6 Ewan Carr 7 Nicola T. Fear 8 Dominic Murphy 9 Daniel Leightley 0000-0001-9512-752x 10 71209__36191__2defc3357f304a39a5de39a6bbfa4ae7.pdf 71209.VoR.pdf 2026-02-04T12:09:16.6846180 Output 923627 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 Williamson et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Digital health interventions for women in frontline public service roles: A systematic review of effectiveness in reducing substance use
spellingShingle Digital health interventions for women in frontline public service roles: A systematic review of effectiveness in reducing substance use
Simon Dymond
title_short Digital health interventions for women in frontline public service roles: A systematic review of effectiveness in reducing substance use
title_full Digital health interventions for women in frontline public service roles: A systematic review of effectiveness in reducing substance use
title_fullStr Digital health interventions for women in frontline public service roles: A systematic review of effectiveness in reducing substance use
title_full_unstemmed Digital health interventions for women in frontline public service roles: A systematic review of effectiveness in reducing substance use
title_sort Digital health interventions for women in frontline public service roles: A systematic review of effectiveness in reducing substance use
author_id_str_mv 8ed0024546f2588fdb0073a7d6fbc075
author_id_fullname_str_mv 8ed0024546f2588fdb0073a7d6fbc075_***_Simon Dymond
author Simon Dymond
author2 Grace Williamson
Toslima Khatun
Kate King
Amos Simms
Simon Dymond
Laura Goodwin
Ewan Carr
Nicola T. Fear
Dominic Murphy
Daniel Leightley
format Journal article
container_title PLOS Digital Health
container_volume 5
container_issue 1
container_start_page e0001154
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 2767-3170
doi_str_mv 10.1371/journal.pdig.0001154
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str School of Psychology{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Psychology
document_store_str 1
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description Frontline occupations, including military, healthcare, and first responders, often include frequent exposure to traumatic events, increasing the risk of substance use disorders (SUDs). Research has shown that those in high-intensity occupations are at higher risk of developing SUDs compared to the general population. Women face unique experiences related to substance use, including greater functional impairment and barriers to treatment access. Yet, understanding of the effectiveness of digital health technologies in addressing substance use among women in frontline occupations is limited. This systematic review evaluates the effectiveness of digital health interventions in reducing substance use among women in frontline roles. Four databases (PsycINFO, Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, PsycArticles) were searched for English language full-text articles (2007–2024) that (1) evaluated a digital intervention designed to reduce substance use, (2) reported changes in substance use outcomes such as frequency, intensity or duration, using validated tools (3) included current or former frontline public service workers, and (4) included women as the primary target population or as a subgroup within the sample. 13 papers met inclusion criteria, focusing on eight distinct web and mobile-based interventions for alcohol, tobacco and illicit substances. Most studies (n = 11) reported substantial post-intervention reductions in alcohol and tobacco use, although results for PTSD symptoms, illicit drug use, and quality of life were mixed. This review highlights the potential of digital health interventions for reducing substance use but underscores significant gaps in research. The scarcity of studies focused on women, small and heterogeneous samples, and focus on veterans limits the generalisability to women in frontline roles. These gaps present a pressing challenge in understanding gender-specific digital intervention efficacy. Future research should prioritise larger, representative samples of women across diverse frontline occupations to drive the development of digital technologies tailored to the unique challenges faced by women in these roles.
published_date 2026-01-06T05:34:43Z
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score 11.096089

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