Behavioral assessments in Russian addiction treatment inpatients: a comparison of audio computer-assisted self-interviewing and interviewer-administered questionnaires.

Purpose: Assess agreement between reported sex and drug use behaviors from audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI) and interviewer-ad ministered questionnaire (IAQ). Method: Participants (N = 180) enrolled in an HIV intervention trial in Russia completed ACASI and IAQ on the same day. Agreement between responses was evaluated. Results: Of the 13 sex behavior questions, 10 items had excellent agreement (kappas/ICC 0.80-0.95) and 3 items had moderate agreement (kappas/ICC 0.59-0.75). The 3 drug behavior questions had excellent agreement (kappas/ICC 0.94-0.97). Among HIV-specific questions asked of HIV-positive participants (n = 21) only, 2 items had excellent agreement (kappas 1.0) and 3 items had moderate agreement (kappas 0.40-0.71). Conclusions: Assessment of drug and sex. risk behaviors by ACASI and IAQ had generally strong agreement for the majority of items. The lack of discrepancy may result from these Russian subjects' perception that computers do not ensure privacy. Another potential explanatory factor is that both interviews were delivered on the same day. These data raise questions as to whether use of ACASI is uniformly beneficial in all settings, and what influence cultural factors have on its utility.