Pilot study to evaluate usability and acceptability of the ‘Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool’ in Russian primary healthcare

Abstract

Background and aims Accurate and user-friendly assessment tools quantifying alcohol consumption are a prerequisite to effective prevention and treatment programmes, including Screening and Brief Intervention. Digital tools offer new potential in this field. We developed the ‘Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool’ (AAA-Tool), a mobile app providing an interactive version of the World Health Organization's Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) that facilitates the description of individual alcohol consumption via culturally informed animation features. This pilot study evaluated the Russia-specific version of the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool with regard to (1) its usability and acceptability in a primary healthcare setting, (2) the plausibility of its alcohol consumption assessment results and (3) the adequacy of its Russia-specific vessel and beverage selection. Methods Convenience samples of 55 patients (47% female) and 15 healthcare practitioners (80% female) in 2 Russian primary healthcare facilities self-administered the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool and rated their experience on the Mobile Application Rating Scale – User Version. Usage data was automatically collected during app usage, and additional feedback on regional content was elicited in semi-structured interviews. Results On average, patients completed the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool in 6:38 min (SD = 2.49, range = 3.00–17.16). User satisfaction was good, with all subscale Mobile Application Rating Scale – User Version scores averaging >3 out of 5 points. A majority of patients (53%) and practitioners (93%) would recommend the tool to ‘many people’ or ‘everyone’. Assessed alcohol consumption was plausible, with a low number (14%) of logically impossible entries. Most patients reported the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool to reflect all vessels (78%) and all beverages (71%) they typically used. Conclusion High acceptability ratings by patients and healthcare practitioners, acceptable completion time, plausible alcohol usage assessment results and perceived adequacy of region-specific content underline the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool's potential to provide a novel approach to alcohol assessment in primary healthcare. After its validation, the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool might contribute to reducing alcohol-related harm by facilitating Screening and Brief Intervention implementation in Russia and beyond.

The socioeconomic gradient of alcohol use: an analysis of nationally representative survey data from 55 low-income and middle-income countries

“…Given the relatively high numbers of missing values for HED and the low coverage observed in alcohol surveys overall, 33 future research should focus on the development of novel, digital alcohol assessment tools that can account for cultural contexts, reduce the potential impact of stigma, and show high accuracy across all socioeconomic groups. 34 Our findings provide new evidence to enable the design and development of targeted policies and actions to reduce harmful effects of alcohol consumption on health, wellbeing, human capital, and economic productivity, and to bolster efforts aimed at achieving the SDGs. Contributors YX, CP, and SV conceived the idea for this study.…”

“…Given the relatively high numbers of missing values for HED and the low coverage observed in alcohol surveys overall, 33 future research should focus on the development of novel, digital alcohol assessment tools that can account for cultural contexts, reduce the potential impact of stigma, and show high accuracy across all socioeconomic groups. 34 …”

“…In the sensitivity analysis, we assessed the prevalence of current drinking using information from the past 12 months and the past 30 days, using data from 47 surveys that assessed both. The estimated prevalence of current drinking using the past 12 months as the reference time frame was around 35% higher than when using the past 30 days (appendix pp [34][35]. Moreover, we tested whether drinkers from particular demographic groups were less likely to report HED using data from 49 surveys that assessed information on HED.…”