A text-based mobile health treatment for young adults with cannabis use disorder worked equally well in rural and urban areas

The PNC-txt mobile health intervention reduced cannabis use at 6 months by increasing readiness to change and protective behavioral strategies at 1 month. These treatment mechanisms operated similarly across rural and urban participants, suggesting mHealth can bridge the rural treatment gap.

Secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial of PNC-txt (Peer Network Counseling-txt), an mHealth treatment for young adults aged 18-25 with cannabis use disorder. Rural-urban differences in treatment mechanisms (protective behavioral strategies, readiness to change, peer network health) and efficacy were tested.

Rural residents face major barriers to substance use treatment: limited providers, stigma, and lack of confidentiality. This study demonstrates that a text-based treatment overcomes these barriers and works as well in rural communities as in urban ones.

The rural-urban treatment gap in addiction care is well-documented. Mobile health interventions that work equally well regardless of location could represent a paradigm shift in how substance use disorders are treated in underserved communities.

The rural-urban classification method was not specified in the abstract. Sample demographics (77% White) may limit generalizability. The analysis was secondary, not the primary trial objective.