The Psychostimulant Check-Up: A pilot study of a brief intervention to reduce illicit stimulant use

This study is to test the acceptability of a single-session 'check-up' intervention for psychostimulant users and document participants' subsequent progress in reducing psychostimulant use and related harms.

The design was pre-experimental single-group repeated measures. Eighty participants received the Psychostimulant Check-Up, with 62% completing a 3 month follow up.

Participants were predominantly young adult methamphetamine users. The majority indicated that the Check-Up answered their questions, increased their awareness of services, and they would recommend it to their friends. At follow up, there was a significant reduction in self-reported methamphetamine use, the number of self-reported psychostimulant-related negative consequences experienced in the previous month and rates of injecting: 62% self-reported at least a 1 g reduction in methamphetamine use.

The intervention was well accepted and the majority of those who received it subsequently made meaningful reductions in psychostimulant use and related harm. The intervention offers sufficient promise to warrant a randomised trial to establish whether improvements were specific to the intervention.