Article
Acceptability of audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) among substance abusers seeking treatment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Registro en:
SIMÕES, Anna Maria Azevedo et al. Acceptability of audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) among substance abusers seeking treatment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Limerick, v. 82, Supplement 1, p. S103-S107, 2006.
0376-8716
10.1016/S0376-8716(06)80016-5
Autor
Simões, Anna Maria Azevedo
Bastos, Francisco Inácio Pinkusfeld Monteiro
Moreira, Ronaldo Ismerio
Linch, Kevin G.
Metzger, David S.
Resumen
This research was supported by grant 914/BRA/3014 from the Brazilian Ministry of Health HIV/STD National Coordination and the Health Department of Rio de Janeiro State Government, with additional funds from the Center for Studies of Addiction at the University of Pennsylvania.
We would like to acknowledge the following persons and institutions for their contributions to this research: ACORI staff Lucia Beck, Claudete Bueno, Rosana Silva, Carlos
Silva, Rita Barcelos, Nadima Bernacchi, Tereza Knett; Silo Francisco de Assis Hospital Rosa Ferreira and Eliane Campagnuci; Silo Sebastiio Institute Eduardo Barbosa (in memoriam); Oswaldo Cruz Foundation Mariana Hacker; the Centra-Rio/SES team; and the people who took part in the research. This study aimed to determine the acceptability of the ACASI approach to risk assessment and the impact of personal preference regarding mode of interview on reporting risk behaviors among drug users entering treatment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We assessed 268 substance users who completed the ACASI arm in a randomized trial comparing the ACASI with the Interviewer-Administered Questionnaire (IAQ).
The vast majority of interviewees (90.7%) reported no problem using the computer, and 37.3% felt that their privacy was best protected by the ACASI (vs. 16.4% who preferred the IAQ). Nearly half (45.5%) reported that the computer interview would produce more "honest" answers, whereas 30.6% selected the IAQ. In the adjusted regression analysis, problems using the computer were associated only with lower educational level (p < 0.05). We found no evidence that preference had an impact on reporting risk behaviors or drug use. Our study showed both good feasibility and acceptability of the ACASI for interviewing drug users in Brazil. The findings extend our understanding
of the role of the ACASI method by suggesting the utility of this approach in assessing HIV risk among low- to middle-income drug users in a cultural setting quite different from previous studies.