Substance Use Prevention for Recently Displaced Adults - SUPRA (R33) RCT

Substance Use Prevention for Recently Displaced Adults - SUPRA (R33) RCT

This study is a randomized controlled trial among 144 internally displaced people to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a single-session Acceptance of Commitment Therapy (ACT) group therapy on preventing or reducing substance use behaviors.

The war in Ukraine has provoked the world's current largest humanitarian displacement: since February 2022, over 13 million people, i.e., one-third of Ukrainians, have been forced to leave their homes, resulting in nearly 6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). War and humanitarian emergencies may exacerbate substance use, but the incidence and prevalence of unhealthy substance use in humanitarian settings, including Ukraine, are currently largely unknown. This lack of data limits the ability to tailor targeted, effective preventive substance use interventions for these mobile populations. Addressing this knowledge gap is an immense priority for Ukraine, where rates of substance use were high even prior to the Russian invasion in February 2022, and in other settings hosting large populations of IDPs, including the United States.

To determine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of the intervention among IDPs, a RCT to evaluate implementation and substance use outcomes associated with the intervention at 1 and 6 months.

The investigators hypothesize that an ACT-based intervention delivered in a humanitarian context will help displaced persons in Ukraine build skills to manage stress and prevent or reduce substance use behaviors, ultimately mitigating the onset of substance use disorders.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age 18 or over
2. Have been displaced at least once due to Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) or full-scale invasion since 2014
3. Self-reported use of at least one substance other than alcohol and tobacco within the past 3 months
4. Ability to provide informed consent and speak Ukrainian or Russian

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Self-reported diagnosis of a substance use disorder
2. Inability to provide informed consent