Synopsis
To help engage people who consume methamphetamine (MA) in treatment earlier, the Stimulant Treatment Program (STP) at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney (SVHS) established the Stimulant Check-Up Clinic (S-Check). The S-Check service model of care provides strengths-based, bio-psychosocial assessments, aiming to engage people who consume MA who have not previously accessed treatment to increase their knowledge and awareness to change behaviour, reduce harms, and seek treatment before problematic use begins or becomes entrenched.
An initial study, Feasibility and efficacy of the S-Check App: A harm reduction and early intervention smartphone application for methamphetamine use, investigated the translation of the service model to a mobile app with an aim to develop knowledge of MA risks and harms among people not engaged in traditional modes of treatment, and to encourage help-seeking.
We have redeveloped the app based on qualitative data from the initial S-Check study. For the current S-Check app, we will recruit participants for a prospective cohort study which seeks to describe the demographic and MA use profile of a cohort of individuals who use a smartphone app to address their MA use. There is no target for recruitment. All participants will download the app and have ongoing access for the 24-month duration of the study. Follow-up questionnaires will be administered at 28-day intervals.