Project dates: September 2010 - February 2016
Integrating substance use screening and assessment into busy medical settings has proven challenging, but could be facilitated by a unified approach that combines screening and assessment for tobacco, alcohol and drugs, and quickly and reliably gathers enough information to provide a detailed and accurate risk assessment to guide clinical interventions. One such instrument is the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), a structured interview developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for use in general health-care settings, and validated in a large multi-site international study. However, the ASSIST is too lengthy and complex for a typical medical visit, and is therefore greatly under-utilized. This study adapted the ASSIST to an audio guided computer-assisted self interview (ACASI) that patients completed prior to their medical visit and then tested its validity relative to the traditional interviewer-administered ASSIST. Results showed that the ACASI ASSIST is a valid and feasible screening approach, which could help to advance the integration of substance use screening into regular primary care practice.
Abstract on NIH RePORTERLeveraging technology to address unhealthy drug use in primary care: Effectiveness of the Substance use Screening and Intervention Tool (SUSIT)
Substance Abuse, 43 (1), 564-572. doi: 10.1080/08897077.2021.1975868. PMCID: PMC9968463.
Kumar PC, Cleland CM, Gourevitch MN, Rotrosen J, Strauss S, Russell L, McNeely J (2016).
Accuracy of the Audio Computer Assisted Self Interview version of the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ACASI ASSIST) for identifying unhealthy substance use and substance use disorders in primary care patients
Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 165, 38-44. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.05.030. PMCID: PMC4962996.
McNeely J, Strauss SM, Rotrosen J, Ramautar A, Gourevitch MN (2016).
Validation of an audio computer assisted self interview (ACASI) version of the alcohol, smoking and substance involvement screening test (ASSIST) in primary care patients
Addiction, 111 (2), 233-244. doi: 10.1111/add.13165. PMCID: PMC4899945.
McNeely J, Cleland CM, Strauss SM, Palamar JJ, Rotrosen J, Saitz R (2015).
Validation of self-administered single-item screening questions (SISQs) for unhealthy alcohol and drug use in primary care patients
Journal of General Internal Medicine, 30 (12), 1757-1764. doi: 10.1007/s11606-015-3391-6. PMCID: PMC4636560.
McNeely J, Strauss SM, Saitz R, Cleland CM, Palamar JJ, Rotrosen J, Gourevitch MN (2015).
A brief patient self-administered substance use screening tool for primary care: Two-site validation study of the Substance Use Brief Screen (SUBS)
American Journal of Medicine, 128 (7), 784.e9-784.e19. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2015.02.007. PMCID: PMC4475501.
McNeely J, Strauss S, Halkitis PN, Saitz R, Rotrosen J, Shelley D, Cleland C, Gourevitch MN (2015).
Validation of the substance use brief screen in primary care
Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 146, e35-e36. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.09.468.
Spear SE, Shedlin M, Gilberti B, Fiellin M, McNeely J (2016).
Feasibility and acceptability of an audio computer-assisted self-interview version of the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) in primary care patients
Substance Abuse, 37 (2), 299-305. doi: 10.1080/08897077.2015.1062460. PMCID: PMC4962999.
McNeely J, Halkitis PN, Horton A, Khan R, Gourevitch MN (2014).
How patients understand the term “nonmedical use” of prescription drugs: Insights from cognitive interviews
Substance Abuse, 35 (1), 12-20. doi: 10.1080/08897077.2013.789463. PMCID: PMC3942803.
McNeely J, Strauss SM, Wright S, Rotrosen J, Khan R, Lee JD, Gourevitch MN (2014).
Test-retest reliability of a self-administered Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) in primary care patients
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 47 (1), 93-101. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2014.01.007. PMCID: PMC4035183.
McNeely J, Wright S, Matthews AG, Rotrosen J, Shelley D, Buchholz MP, Curro FA (2013).
Substance-use screening and interventions in dental practices: Survey of practice-based research network dentists regarding current practices, policies and barriers
Journal of the American Dental Association, 144 (6), 627-638. doi: 10.14219/jada.archive.2013.0174. PMCID: PMC3699308.