Feasibility and Acceptability of Integrating Digital Screening and Brief Intervention for Substance Use into Home...

Perinatal substance use (SU) often goes unaddressed due to stigma and lack of access to treatment. Home visiting (HV) is a promising venue for integrating brief interventions to address perinatal SU. We evaluated a digital screening and brief intervention for SU that is tailored to the HV context (e-SBI-HV).

The e-SBI-HV includes two digital sessions completed confidentially by clients plus home visitor facilitation protocols to promote e-SBI-HV integration into HV. The e-SBI-HV was pilot tested in New Jersey with 20 home visitors and 10 clients. A mixed-methods approach assessed recruitment and implementation feasibility, and program acceptability.

Eighty-five clients were referred and 14 enrolled over 2 years. e-SBI-HV completion rates were 90% for digital Session 1, 70% for Session 2, and 72.5% for the facilitation protocols. Average acceptability ratings were 4.03/5.00 for Session 1 and 3.93/5.00 for Session 2. Qualitative interviews with home visitors and clients revealed implementation facilitators and barriers.

Within the small sample that enrolled, feasibility and acceptability of the e-SBI-HV was supported. However, there were significant challenges reaching the target population. Qualitative interviews provided important feedback for refining the e-SBI-HV to improve reach within the HV setting, including the need for a prevention-oriented focus.

While findings support the preliminary feasibility and acceptability of the e-SBI-HV, further research with a larger sample is needed to overcome significant implementation barriers and challenges identified in this study.