Home > Screening and brief interventions for illicit drug use and alcohol use in methadone maintained opiate-dependent patients: results of a pilot cluster randomized controlled trial feasibility study.

Darker, Catherine D and Sweeney, Brion and Keenan, Eamon and Whiston, Lucy and Anderson, Rolande and Barry, Joseph (2016) Screening and brief interventions for illicit drug use and alcohol use in methadone maintained opiate-dependent patients: results of a pilot cluster randomized controlled trial feasibility study. Substance Use & Misuse, 51, (9), pp. 1104-1115.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a single clinician delivered brief intervention (BI) to reduce problem alcohol use and illicit substance use in an opiate-dependent methadone maintained cohort of patients attending for treatment.

METHODS: Four addiction treatment centers were randomly assigned to either treatment as usual (TAU; control group) or BI (intervention group). Clinicians screened patients using the alcohol, smoking, and substance involvement screening test (ASSIST) screening tool at baseline and again at three-month follow up. Fidelity checks were performed to ensure that training was delivered effectively and uniformly across all study sites. Feasibility of administering a BI within daily practice was assessed through intervention fidelity checks, patient satisfaction questionnaires and process evaluation.

RESULTS: A total of 465 patients were screened (66% of the overall eligible population) with a total of 433 (93%) ASSIST positive cases. Randomization was effective, with no differences in the control versus the intervention arms at baseline for key demographic or clinical indicators including substance us. There was a statistically significant difference between global risk score for the intervention (x = 39.36, sd = 25.91) group and the control group (x = 45.27, SD = 27.52) at 3-month follow-up (t(341) = -2.07, p < .05).

CONCLUSIONS: This trial provides the first evidence that a single clinician delivered BI can result in a reduction in substance use within a methadone maintained opiate-dependent cohort, and this effect is sustained at three month follow up.


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