Crystal methamphetamine (‘ice’) use is a significant global health concern. Cracks in the Ice (CITI: cracksintheice.org.au) is a digital public health initiative that was developed as part of a national response to concerns about ice in Australia. It is the first centralised national online portal for evidence-based information and resources about ice in Australia and provides targeted resources for health workers, people who use ice, their family and friends, community groups and schools. A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted to evaluate the acceptability and utility of CITI among a large sample of >2000 Australian residents aged ≥18 years. People who had previously visited the website (“website visitors”) and those who had not (“naïve”) were recruited. At baseline, knowledge and attitudes about ice and people who use the drug were assessed via validated scales. CITI website visitors then completed a series of site evaluation questions, including the System Usability Scale (SUS), and naïve participants were asked to undertake a guided site tour of a replicated version of the site before completing the evaluation questions and repeating knowledge and attitude scales. The average SUS score of 73.49 (SD 13.30) indicated good site usability. Website visitors had significantly higher baseline knowledge than naïve participants (P<.001). Knowledge scores among naïve participants increased significantly following exposure to CITI (baseline M 14.4, SE 0.05, post-exposure M 15.2, SE 0.05; P<.001) whereas their stigmatizing attitude scores were significantly lower following exposure (baseline M 44.3, SE 0.21, post-exposure M 41.97, SE 0.21; P<.001). CITI demonstrates the important role of digital public health initiatives for improving knowledge and reducing stigma relating to substance use.
Knowledge translation in action: Evaluation of a digital health initiative in illicit substance use
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