Evaluation of the QuikFix Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Harm Minimisation Program for residential college students.

INTERVENTION: There are three groups in this study: Group 1) the comparison group – who receive the workshop only; Group 2) intervention group – who receive the Full QuikFix College Program (i.e., workshop + brief intervention), and Group 3) the control group – who receive the usual Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) messaging from their respective colleges. AOD Harm Minimisation Workshop (Group 1 and 2). An interactive, 1‐hour workshop will be delivered during orientation‐week (O‐Week) to first year students at participating UQ colleges assigned to Groups 1 and 2, to increase their knowledge of and intention to use harm minimisation strategies and reduce their risk of risky AOD use and related harm. A quiz show trivia format will be used, in which the first year cohort at each college will be split into teams (based on existing college structures). The workshop will be facilitated by trained student leaders from each college, with the support of the research team. The trivia content was co‐developed and with college staff and leaders using focus groups/participatory design workshops, and refined based on feedback. The workshop includes information about: how alcohol and other drugs is likely to affect individuals physically, mentally, socially and emotionally; how to drink alcohol but not get too drunk; and harm minimisation strategies for safer alcohol and other drug use to reduce risk of harm. Colleges assigned to Groups 1 and 2 will receive access to QuikFix AOD use and harm minimisation factsheets throughout the year. Students in Group 1 and 2 will be sent four interactive emails containing booster material (5 trivia questions) from the workshop on alcohol, cannabis, MDMA, smoking/vaping (the drugs most commonly used drugs at baseline will be targeted) 3‐4 weeks apart CONDITION: Alcohol Use;Drug Use; ; Alcohol Use ; Drug Use Mental Health ‐ Addiction PRIMARY OUTCOME: Alcohol involvement score (alcohol use and associated problems) assessed with the World Health Organization (WHO) Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) (WHO ASSIST Working Group, 2002).[Baseline compared to 12 (primary timepoint), 26 and 52 weeks post baseline.] INCLUSION CRITERIA: Pre‐intervention baseline ‐ QuikFix Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) harm reduction workshop: Those aged 17 + years who provide consent to participate in the research and complete the baseline survey will be eligible to participate in the evaluation. All first years at colleges allocated to Groups 1 and 2 will be able to attend the workshop regardless of their consent to participate in the research. QuikFix Brief AOD Intervention: Only socially influential first year students identified as risky drinkers at the colleges assigned to Group 2 (i.e., workshop + QuikFix) will be eligible to receive the QuikFix Brief Telehealth Intervention. Socially Influential first years will be identified using the first year cohorts’ responses to an adapted version of the Important People Instrument administered at 6‐weeks post baseline (Clifford & Longabaugh, 1991). Risky drinking is defined as consumption of 4 (if female) or 5 (if male) standard drinks on grea SECONDARY OUTCOME: Alcohol and other drug (i.e. Tobacco/Nicotine, Cannabis, MDMA) related knowledge is assess using trivia items adapted from previous trials with young people (Hides et al., 2020; Teesson et al., 2014; Teesson et al., 2020). These items assess knowledge of national guidelines and laws, social norms, and common myths (targeted within the workshop) on a true/false/don’t know response scale.[Baseline compared to 6 weeks post baseline. ] Alcohol use assessed using the 8‐item World Health Organisation (WHO) Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (WHO AUDIT, 2001).[Baseline compared to 12, 26 and 52 weeks post baseline.] Alcohol‐related consequences are assessed using the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire – Revised (24 items; Kahler et al., 2008) and an additional three items measuring alcohol‐related sexual experiences (Jaffe, et al., 2021; Kaysen et al., 2006; Nguyen et al., 2010).[Baseline compared to 12, 26 and 52 weeks post baseline.] Anxiety severity, measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD‐7).[Baseline compared to 6, 12, 26 and 52 weeks post baseline.] College drinking norms will be measured with several scales from the recent VicHealth report into alcohol cultures in residential colleges (Corney, Cronin, Leontini, Lim & Wright, 2020), including standardised measures of: alcohol consumption at college social events, harm prevention and alcohol awareness and social drinking patterns in college. Social identification with college will be measured using an adapted version of the Social Identification Scale (4‐items; Doosje, Ellemers, and Spears, 1995). Frequency of personal and perceived peer drinking to intoxication (drinking to get drunk) in the past month is measured via two items used previously with young people (Hides et al., 2018).[Baseline compared to 6, 12, 26 and 52 weeks post baseline.] Depression symptom severity, measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐9).[Baseline compared to 6, 12, 26 and 52 weeks post baseline.] Other drug involvement (use and associated problems) assessed with the composite score of the World Health Organization (WHO) Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) (WHO ASSIST Working Group, 2002), adapted to include common substances of concern among residential college students.[Baseline compared to 12, 26 and 52 weeks post baseline.] Past 4‐week frequency and typical quantity of AOD use will be assessed with the adapted version of the Australian Treatment Outcome Profile (ATOP) (Ryan et al., 2014).[Baseline compared to 6, 12, 26 and 52 weeks post baseline.] Single item measures of alcohol use from Barnett et al (2019).[Baseline compared to 6, 12, 26 and 52 weeks post baseline. ]