ASSIST in Pitjantjatjara: Protocol for a randomised crossover validation study among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
Background: Substance use significantly contributes to disease burden among Australians, with harms exacerbated among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by colonisation-related factors like stigma and trauma. Addressing this gap requires culturally acceptable, valid and reliable screening...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-10-01
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| Series: | Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451865425001061 |
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| author | Matthew W.R. Stevens Sue Bertossa Dominic Barry Chris Holmwood KS Kylie Lee John Marsden Matt Pedler Mark Thompson Scott Wilson Robert L. Ali |
| author_facet | Matthew W.R. Stevens Sue Bertossa Dominic Barry Chris Holmwood KS Kylie Lee John Marsden Matt Pedler Mark Thompson Scott Wilson Robert L. Ali |
| author_sort | Matthew W.R. Stevens |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Substance use significantly contributes to disease burden among Australians, with harms exacerbated among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by colonisation-related factors like stigma and trauma. Addressing this gap requires culturally acceptable, valid and reliable screening tools, available in a familiar language to the participant, to identify and provide support for those at-risk. This protocol describes a study aimed at validating a culturally-adapted screening tool — the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) — into Pitjantjatjara, to detect risk of substance-related harm. Methods: Recruitment will occur at a variety of Aboriginal health and welfare settings across remote, rural and urban South Australia. Eligible participants (aged 18–65) will be briefed and, upon consent, randomly complete the ASSIST app on an iPad and a semi-structured, yarning-style diagnostic interview (see endnote 1) with a health professional and Pitjantjatjara interpreter. The interview will assess for a range of clinically-defined substance use disorders (based on DSM-5-TR and ICD-11 criteria). All participants will be asked to complete the app a second time (between 7 and 28 days) to assess reliability, while a subset of participants at highest-risk will also undergo specialist evaluation from an independent clinician, as a second check for validity. Discussion: Valid and reliable assessment tools are essential for detecting risky and harmful substance use. If valid, this app has the potential to contribute to community-led efforts to bridge the health gap by addressing modifiable health risk factors. Trial registration: ANZCTR: ACTRN12625000413426. Open Science Framework pre-registration: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GNZAY. Version control number: Protocol version 1.1, June 23, 2025. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4f3557ede3774a3da05a3b78d90cc188 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2451-8654 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-4f3557ede3774a3da05a3b78d90cc1882025-08-20T05:07:17ZengElsevierContemporary Clinical Trials Communications2451-86542025-10-014710153210.1016/j.conctc.2025.101532ASSIST in Pitjantjatjara: Protocol for a randomised crossover validation study among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander AustraliansMatthew W.R. Stevens0Sue Bertossa1Dominic Barry2Chris Holmwood3KS Kylie Lee4John Marsden5Matt Pedler6Mark Thompson7Scott Wilson8Robert L. Ali9School of Biomedicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia; Corresponding author. The University of Adelaide, Level 3, Helen Mayo South Building, 1 Frome Road, 5005, Australia.Flinders Wellbeing Centre, Salisbury, South Australia, AustraliaSchool of Psychology, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaSchool of Biomedicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaCentre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia; Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Edith Collins Centre, Translational Research in Alcohol Drugs and Toxicology, Drug Health Services, Sydney Local Health District, AustraliaNIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United KingdomFlinders Wellbeing Centre, Salisbury, South Australia, AustraliaDrug and Alcohol Services South Australia (DASSA), Magill, SA, AustraliaAboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council South Australia Aboriginal Corporation, Underdale, SA, AustraliaSchool of Biomedicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaBackground: Substance use significantly contributes to disease burden among Australians, with harms exacerbated among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by colonisation-related factors like stigma and trauma. Addressing this gap requires culturally acceptable, valid and reliable screening tools, available in a familiar language to the participant, to identify and provide support for those at-risk. This protocol describes a study aimed at validating a culturally-adapted screening tool — the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) — into Pitjantjatjara, to detect risk of substance-related harm. Methods: Recruitment will occur at a variety of Aboriginal health and welfare settings across remote, rural and urban South Australia. Eligible participants (aged 18–65) will be briefed and, upon consent, randomly complete the ASSIST app on an iPad and a semi-structured, yarning-style diagnostic interview (see endnote 1) with a health professional and Pitjantjatjara interpreter. The interview will assess for a range of clinically-defined substance use disorders (based on DSM-5-TR and ICD-11 criteria). All participants will be asked to complete the app a second time (between 7 and 28 days) to assess reliability, while a subset of participants at highest-risk will also undergo specialist evaluation from an independent clinician, as a second check for validity. Discussion: Valid and reliable assessment tools are essential for detecting risky and harmful substance use. If valid, this app has the potential to contribute to community-led efforts to bridge the health gap by addressing modifiable health risk factors. Trial registration: ANZCTR: ACTRN12625000413426. Open Science Framework pre-registration: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GNZAY. Version control number: Protocol version 1.1, June 23, 2025.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451865425001061SBIRTSubstance use disordersDependenceAboriginal health and WellbeingAlcoholTobacco and illicit drug use |
| spellingShingle | Matthew W.R. Stevens Sue Bertossa Dominic Barry Chris Holmwood KS Kylie Lee John Marsden Matt Pedler Mark Thompson Scott Wilson Robert L. Ali ASSIST in Pitjantjatjara: Protocol for a randomised crossover validation study among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications SBIRT Substance use disorders Dependence Aboriginal health and Wellbeing Alcohol Tobacco and illicit drug use |
| title | ASSIST in Pitjantjatjara: Protocol for a randomised crossover validation study among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians |
| title_full | ASSIST in Pitjantjatjara: Protocol for a randomised crossover validation study among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians |
| title_fullStr | ASSIST in Pitjantjatjara: Protocol for a randomised crossover validation study among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians |
| title_full_unstemmed | ASSIST in Pitjantjatjara: Protocol for a randomised crossover validation study among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians |
| title_short | ASSIST in Pitjantjatjara: Protocol for a randomised crossover validation study among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians |
| title_sort | assist in pitjantjatjara protocol for a randomised crossover validation study among aboriginal and torres strait islander australians |
| topic | SBIRT Substance use disorders Dependence Aboriginal health and Wellbeing Alcohol Tobacco and illicit drug use |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451865425001061 |
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