Article originally published on B&T.
GHO Sydney and The University of Wollongong have teamed up with SMART Recovery Australia to launch Smart Track, an app that helps people manage addictive behaviours.
The app allows users to log their urges, set goals, track their progress and access helpful resources.
Smart Track is an extension of SMART Recovery Australia’s program of weekly in-person group meetings, where people with any form of addictive behaviour — drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, food, shopping, the Internet and more — can seek help.
GHO worked closely with program participants and facilitators across NSW, working with SMART Recovery Australia and The University of Wollongong on the user experience, visual design, and development of the app.
Smart Track forms part of a research project conducted by SMART Recovery Australia and The University of Wollongong, along with The University of Newcastle, The University of New South Wales, The University of Queensland, Monash University, Harvard University and King’s College London.
Peter Kelly, associate professor at The University of Wollongong, said: “Addiction is something that affects millions of Australians every single year. Understanding is the first step towards a solution, and this app allows our team to gain a clear understanding of how addiction appears in our everyday lives.”
Ryan Chao, GHO’s creative director, said: “GHO Sydney is proud to have helped create the Smart Track app, which employs a human-centred approach to get feedback directly from the people accessing the SMART Recovery groups. This really helped validate our design decisions.
“Smart Track makes it possible to access SMART Recovery from the palm of your hands 24/7, whenever an urge might occur.”
SMART Recovery is a practical and solution-focused program designed to give those struggling with addictive behaviours a toolbox of coping strategies that they can use daily to achieve their goals.
Speaking about the Smart Track project, SMART Recovery Australia’s executive director Ryan McGlaughlin said: “Routine Outcome Monitoring (ROM) is a useful and well-recognised therapeutic tool in addiction management. GHO has been instrumental in building a world-first user-driven ROM system, which is available around the clock to anyone who needs it.”
Funding for this research was provided by the NSW Ministry of Health under the NSW Health Alcohol and Other Drugs Early Intervention Innovation Grant Scheme.
Smart Track is available free of charge and is available on both IOS and Android devices.