The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in the Russian language - a systematic review of validation efforts and application challenges

Abstract

The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is one of the most frequently used screening instrument for hazardous and harmful use of alcohol and potential alcohol dependence in primary health care (PHC) and other settings worldwide. It has been translated into many languages and adapted and modified for use in some countries, following formal adaptation procedures and validation studies. In the Russian Federation, the AUDIT has been used in different settings and by different health professionals, including addiction specialists (narcologists). In 2017, it was included as a screening instrument in the national guidelines of routine preventive health checks at the population-level (dispanserization). However, various Russian translations of the AUDIT are known to be in use in different settings and, so far, little is known about the empirical basis and validation of the instrument in Russia—a country, which is known for its distinct drinking patterns and their detrimental impact on health. The present contribution is the summary of two systematic reviews that were carried out to inform a planned national validation study of the AUDIT in Russia.Two systematic searches were carried out to 1) identify all validation efforts of the AUDIT in Russia and to document all reported problems encountered, and 2) identify all globally existing Russian translations of the AUDIT and document their differences and any reported issues in their application. The qualitative narrative synthesis of all studies that met the inclusion criteria of the first search highlighted the absence of any large-scale rigorous validation study of the AUDIT in primary health care in Russia, while a document analysis of all of the 122 Russian translations has revealed 61 unique versions, most of which contained inconsistencies and signaled obvious application challenges of the test.The results clearly signal the need for a validation study of the Russian AUDIT.

The association between sexual orientation discrimination and drinking among men who have sex with men: Results from an ecological momentary assessment study.

“…AUDIT scores of 8 or higher are considered evidence of possible drinking problems (Babor et al, 2001). This measure has been used extensively in both clinical and research settings and is well validated and reliable across varied populations (Hallit et al, 2020; Neufeld et al, 2021; Pal et al, 2004). However, for our sample, the AUDIT only achieved adequate reliability (α = .68).…”

Capturing Russian drinking patterns with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: An exploratory interview study in primary healthcare and narcology centers in Moscow

“…In 2013, Russia introduced specific evidence-based screening procedures for risk factors in PHC facilities, including screening for "risk of harmful alcohol use", using first the CAGE screening tool (the name of which is an acronym of its four questions) and then the AUDIT [11,12]. However, the existence of more than 60 different Russian translations of the instrument and the absence of any validation studies in Russian PHC facilities [13,14] makes its use at the population level very difficult. In order to initiate a formal process of translation, adaptation and validation of the AUDIT in the Russian language and in PHC facilities in the Russian Federation, the Russian Ministry of Health and the WHO Country Office in the Russian Federation with technical support of the WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of NCDs have formed a group of international and national experts, the RUS-AU-DIT Project Advisory Board, to develop a study protocol for all the necessary steps [15].…”