Background: Nurse-delivered brief interventions (BIs) may offer a feasible strategy for reducing co-occurring substance use in resource-constrained addiction treatment settings. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted among treatment-seeking opioid-dependent patients. Participants were assessed using the World Health Organization Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST). The intervention group received nurse-conducted ASSIST-linked BI, while the control group received routine care. Follow-up assessment was conducted after 15 days. Results: Among 100 opioid-dependent patients, tobacco was the most common co-occurring substance use (91%), followed by cannabis (31%) and alcohol (5%). The intervention resulted in a significant reduction in tobacco-related ASSIST scores compared with the control group ( F = 68.59, P = 0.001), whereas no significant differences were observed for alcohol or cannabis use ( P > 0.05). Conclusions: Nurse-conducted BI has the potential to reduce tobacco-related risk among opioid-dependent patients in this setting.
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Bhoria et al. (2026) studied this question.
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