Pilot trial of a transdiagnostic intervention for war-affected men with alcohol misuse in Ukraine
Abstract
Background: Despite the significant burden of alcohol use disorders in Ukraine, access to appropriate care among conflict-affected people remains inadequate. A major barrier is the lack of contextually appropriate interventions suited for conflict-affected settings. This feasibility trial aimed to test the trial procedures, examine early implementation outcomes and preliminary effectiveness of a new brief psychological intervention (“CHANGE”) targeting both alcohol misuse and psychosocial distress among war-affected men in Ukraine.
Methods: Parallel two-arm single blind individually randomized controlled pilot trial with a nested qualitative study was conducted in the two Ukrainian cities – Kyiv and Dnipro. Participants included adult male hazardous or harmful drinkers with elevated levels of psychological distress that were randomised 1:1 to receive either the CHANGE intervention & enhanced usual care (EUC) or EUC only. A mixed-methods approach was used to assess trial procedures (recruitment, retention, randomisation, and data collection), implementation outcomes (acceptability, feasibility of delivery and safety), and perceived effectiveness.
Results: 62 participants were randomised and 41 (66%) completed the outcome assessments. Recruitment targets were met over a seven-month period. Key obstacles to recruitment included normalization of alcohol use, stigma surrounding help-seeking, low intrinsic motivation, competing responsibilities, and war-related logistical barriers. Both participants and facilitators reported overall satisfaction with intervention content, structure, and delivery approach. All stakeholders perceived the intervention to be useful for reducing alcohol misuse and improving well-being.
Conclusions: The findings show overall acceptability, feasibility, and perceived effectiveness of CHANGE delivered under ongoing war conditions, laying the foundation for a fully powered RCT to assess its effectiveness.
Key messages: • CHANGE was feasible and acceptable brief psychological intervention for war-affected men who misuse alcohol in Ukraine, despite active recruitment and delivery challenges.
• CHANGE shows promise for reducing alcohol misuse and improving well-being, supporting a full-scale randomised trial.
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BibTeX
@article{bogdanov2026pilot,
title = {{Pilot trial of a transdiagnostic intervention for war-affected men with alcohol misuse in Ukraine}},
author = {S Bogdanov and V Kachay and K Harbar and A Pastukhova and K Dumchev and C Van der Boor and M Neuman and A Nadkarni and B Roberts and D C Fuhr},
journal = {The European Journal of Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1994},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1994},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Pilot trial of a transdiagnostic intervention for war-affected men with alcohol misuse in Ukraine
AU - S Bogdanov
AU - V Kachay
AU - K Harbar
AU - A Pastukhova
AU - K Dumchev
AU - C Van der Boor
AU - M Neuman
AU - A Nadkarni
AU - B Roberts
AU - D C Fuhr
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The European Journal of Public Health
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1994
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1994
AB - Background: Despite the significant burden of alcohol use disorders in Ukraine, access to appropriate care among conflict-affected people remains inadequate. A major barrier is the lack of contextually appropriate interventions suited for conflict-affected settings. This feasibility trial aimed to test the trial procedures, examine early implementation outcomes and preliminary effectiveness of a new brief psychological intervention (“CHANGE”) targeting both alcohol misuse and psychosocial distress among war-affected men in Ukraine. Methods: Parallel two-arm single blind individually randomized controlled pilot trial with a nested qualitative study was conducted in the two Ukrainian cities – Kyiv and Dnipro. Participants included adult male hazardous or harmful drinkers with elevated levels of psychological distress that were randomised 1:1 to receive either the CHANGE intervention & enhanced usual care (EUC) or EUC only. A mixed-methods approach was used to assess trial procedures (recruitment, retention, randomisation, and data collection), implementation outcomes (acceptability, feasibility of delivery and safety), and perceived effectiveness. Results: 62 participants were randomised and 41 (66%) completed the outcome assessments. Recruitment targets were met over a seven-month period. Key obstacles to recruitment included normalization of alcohol use, stigma surrounding help-seeking, low intrinsic motivation, competing responsibilities, and war-related logistical barriers. Both participants and facilitators reported overall satisfaction with intervention content, structure, and delivery approach. All stakeholders perceived the intervention to be useful for reducing alcohol misuse and improving well-being. Conclusions: The findings show overall acceptability, feasibility, and perceived effectiveness of CHANGE delivered under ongoing war conditions, laying the foundation for a fully powered RCT to assess its effectiveness. Key messages: • CHANGE was feasible and acceptable brief psychological intervention for war-affected men who misuse alcohol in Ukraine, despite active recruitment and delivery challenges. • CHANGE shows promise for reducing alcohol misuse and improving well-being, supporting a full-scale randomised trial.
SN - 1101-1262
SN - 1464-360X
ER -