A randomised controlled trial of a brief intervention for illicit drug use linked to ASSIST screening in a primary healthcare setting: results from the Australian component of the World Health Organization Phase III ASSIST studies

Abstract

This report presents the findings from the Australian component of the Phase III World Health Organization (WHO) Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) randomised controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of a 5–10-min brief intervention (BI) for illicit drug use delivered in primary healthcare (PHC) settings. Participants (n = 171) recruited from a South Australian PHC setting (sexual health clinic) who scored in the ‘moderate risk’ range on the ASSIST were randomly allocated to an intervention group or wait-list control group at baseline and were followed up 3 months later. The ASSIST was administered to both groups at baseline and follow up as a measure of relative risk. Those in the intervention group received a prescribed 10-step BI at baseline. The majority (n = 63) of participants received the BI for amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) or cannabis (n = 17). There was a significant reduction in total illicit substance (P < 0.001) and ATS Involvement (P < 0.01) for those receiving the ASSIST-linked BI, compared with control participants. There was no significant effect on cannabis involvement. The results of this study demonstrate that the ASSIST-linked BI may be a reasonably easy and effective way of reducing illicit substance use by Australian PHC clients.