The development of a structured interview to evaluate cocaine use and risk behaviour

Abstract

Objective: To create a culturally-adjusted structured interview protocol in Portuguese to evaluate the drug history and HIV risk behaviors of cocaine users in Brazil. Method: A review of the literature provide a 'hidden agenda', used as a guide for exploratory interviews with 20 cocaine users. The interviews helped to conceptualize the questions and make them operational in order to be included in the first draft of the working tool. This draft was then tested with 40 cocaine users from different health clinics. The questionnaire was reviewed after every interview until no more major changes were necessary. Results: In the final version of the interview protocol there are 245 questions. Most of them are closed questions with dichotomous or numeric responses or multiple choice. The questionnaire comprehends 13 different subjects: social and populational information, use of legal drugs, use of illegal drugs, initiation into cocaine use, transitional steps for different routes of cocaine administration, pattern of cocaine use during peak usage, criminal activity, recent use of cocaine, past of drug injecting, previous treatments, overdose episodes, family history of alcohol and drug use, and HIV risk behavior. Conclusion: This is the first culturally-adjusted detailed structured interview protocol developed in Brazil to evaluate cocaine users which has been subjected to an extensive piloting process using a relatively large and heterogeneous sample of cocaine users.