Exploring Diverse Applications of Multicriteria Decision Analysis in Drug Policy: A Comprehensive Overview.

Introduction: Although various instruments exist to measure the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in treating problematic drug use, there is a significant gap in the literature regarding the key metrics used to assess the success of these interventions. Understanding the most commonly employed indicators and their validity is essential for improving clinical practices and outcome evaluation.

Method: A preliminary search in the PubMed database was conducted to identify commonly used keywords and descriptors for studies related to this review's topics. These terms were combined using Boolean operators (AND, OR) to construct search strategies tailored to each database, including PsycINFO, PubMed, BIREME, Web of Science, and Scopus. Additionally, reference lists of included studies were reviewed to identify potential additional studies meeting the eligibility criteria. Eligibility Criteria: Only primary studies, whether experimental or observational, quantitative or qualitative, were included. Secondary studies, case reports, case series, commentaries, opinions, letters, or editorials were excluded, without restrictions on year or language of publication. Participants: Studies involving individuals with problematic drug use, either currently or previously undergoing psychosocial interventions, were included, without limitations on age, gender, or ethnicity. Outcomes: The outcomes of interest were those directly related to the research question, focusing on the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions. Selection Process: Two reviewers independently assessed titles, abstracts, and keywords according to the eligibility criteria. Relevant studies were read in full, and those not meeting the criteria were excluded. Data extraction was performed using a pre-tested instrument, covering information such as authorship, publication year, objectives, population and sample, effectiveness measures, main results, and conclusions.

Results: The PRISMA flow diagram was used to extract the primary studies for this review. The findings reveal that the most common outcome measures in the literature to assess psychosocial intervention effectiveness are based on the presence or absence of psychoactive substance use, typically measured by self-reports of cessation and urine drug tests. Only a minority of studies consider other outcome indicators, such as quality of life and improvement in comorbid symptoms among participants.

Conclusion: This review identifies and discusses the most commonly used success indicators in the literature for assessing the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in problematic drug use. The findings may contribute to improving clinical practices and intervention evaluation by providing insights into selecting more appropriate and consistent metrics for assessing therapeutic success.