{"doi":"10.1016/j.conctc.2022.100994","title":"Promoting benzodiazepine cessation through an electronically-delivered patient self-management intervention (EMPOWER-ED): Randomized controlled trial protocol","abstract":"Background: Long-term benzodiazepine dependence carries significant health risks which might be reduced with low-cost patient self-management interventions. A booklet version of one such intervention (Eliminating Medications Through Patient Ownership of End Results; EMPOWER) proved effective in a Canadian clinical trial with older adults. Digitizing such an intervention for electronic delivery and tailoring it to different populations could expand its reach. Accordingly, this article describes the protocol for a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of an electronically-delivered, direct-to-patient benzodiazepine cessation intervention tailored to U.S. military veterans. Methods: Design: Two-arm individually randomized controlled trial. Setting: US Veterans Health Administration primary care clinics. Participants: Primary care patients taking benzodiazepines for three or more months and having access to a smartphone, tablet or desktop computer. Intervention and comparator: Participants will be randomized to receive either the electronically-delivered EMPOWER (EMPOWER-ED) protocol or asked to continue to follow provider recommendations regarding their benzodiazepine use (treatment-as-usual). Measurements: The primary outcomes are complete benzodiazepine cessation and 25% dose reduction, assessed using administrative and self-report data, between baseline and six-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes are self-reported anxiety symptoms, sleep quality, and overall health and quality of life, measured at baseline and 6-month follow-up, and benzodiazepine cessation at 12-month follow-up. Comments: This randomized controlled trial will evaluate whether the accessibility and effectiveness of a promising intervention for benzodiazepine cessation can be improved through digitization and population tailoring.","journal":"Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications","year":2022,"id":268492,"datarank":0.24141568686511508,"base_score":1.6094379124341003,"endowment":1.6094379124341003,"self_citation_contribution":0.24141568686511508,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.24141568686511508,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":4,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9524,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2022-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":487127,"name":"Hildi Hagedorn","orcid":"0000-0002-5118-7624","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":930679,"name":"Mark Bounthavong","orcid":"0000-0002-7343-9458","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":930680,"name":"Traci H. Abraham","orcid":"0000-0003-2398-9264","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":337072,"name":"Carolyn J. Greene","orcid":"0000-0002-1603-952X","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":931321,"name":"Xiaotong Han","orcid":null,"position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":930681,"name":"Lakiesha Kemp","orcid":"0000-0002-9578-8923","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":930682,"name":"Kathy Marchant‐Miros","orcid":"0000-0003-4346-9135","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":930683,"name":"Penny White","orcid":"0000-0003-3409-4300","position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":240672,"name":"Keith Humphreys","orcid":"0000-0003-0694-5761","position":9,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":453538,"name":"Michael A. Cucciare","orcid":"0000-0001-5516-609X","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":29,"raw_metadata":{"citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-07-19T00:27:14.088663Z","pmid":"36111174","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}