FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

All eCHECKUP TO GO subscriptions include the optional use of the Electronic Verification of Completion (EVC) programme. When activated, this programme provides positive verification that a respondent has completed the programme.

The Personal Reflections Programme includes all the functionality of the EVC and provides the respondent with a guided opportunity to thoughtfully reflect on their own personal drinking profile.

Yes. After a respondent completes the eCHECKUP TO GO, they are provided with customised feedback and a unique User ID (UID) number.

When respondents take the eCHECKUP TO GO at a later date, they can enter this number to identify themselves and confidentially track changes in their alcohol use over time.

Yes. All eCHECKUP TO GO transactions are conducted across an encrypted 256 bit Secure Sockets Layer (Transport Layer Security (TLS)). All drinking/drug use behaviour data are stored on a secure server at SDSU and are confidential and anonymous. eCHECKUP TO GO user ID numbers are randomly generated 9 to 12-digit numbers.

The dedicated server is managed by the Interwork Institute at San Diego State University and updated regularly based upon the security guidelines of San Diego State University. Every day, analysed logs and rootkit checks are reviewed by the system administrator.

All data are stored on a secure server at San Diego State University.

Subscribers have access to an on-line summary report, which provides up-to-the-minute descriptive statistics about all respondents who have completed the eCHECKUP TO GO. Additionally, we allow approved subscribers to download their institution's data in a comma-separated variable format.

The data on which we base our feedback is derived from national surveys of college students and adults, and other well-normed risk measures. For a full list, please see the References in our Research section.

Please read the subscription form, which outlines the process. You can also contact the programme director, Dr. Douglas Van Sickle, to discuss the customization process. doug.van.sickle@sdsu.edu

While the form validates the respondent's input to make sure the data can be interpreted, it cannot determine whether the data are accurate.

For example, the form will check to make sure the respondent has entered his or her birthdate and gender, however, it cannot prevent a user from misreporting information. This type of distortion may skew statistical analyses.

Individual researchers will have to accommodate those types of outliers when analysing aggregated data.

For additional questions, please contact Doug Van Sickle at doug.van.sickle@sdsu.edu.

Current research and references for the eCHECKUP TO GO are maintained on this website under Research.

The Alcohol & Marijuana evidence-based harm reduction interventions were created in 2003 by psychologists at San Diego State University and the University of Texas. Born out of the mutual concerns of parents and mental health professionals, the original programmes focused on students at colleges and universities.

Drawing on Motivational Interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2002) and Social Norms Theory (Perkins & Berkowitz, 1986), the eCHECKUP TO GO Programmes were designed to motivate individuals to reduce their destructive use of alcohol / marijuana and associated personal and community harms.

Since their inception, the eCHECKUP TO GO Programmes have grown and have been customised for use internationally for high schools, treatment clinics, health organisations, local and regional communities, corporations and the military.

The mission guiding the eCHECKUP TO GO Programmes' continuous research and development is to provide institutions and individuals with dynamic, customised, online personalised feedback tools that stimulate and support change.