The experiences of participants completing a SuperMIX survey: A qualitative investigation

SuperMIX is a community-based cohort study of people who inject drugs in Melbourne, Australia. The study involves an annual questionnaire that includes questions from sociodemographics, social support, drug use and drug use history, physical and mental health, drug treatment and criminal justice domains. It is anticipated that a range of questions (involving some validated scales) in the questionnaire may be triggering or particularly challenging for some people. Extensive consideration is given to the inclusion of such questions due to these concerns, however there is limited evidence to support these considerations and help guide these decisions. This has been of heightened concern during the recent Coronavirus pandemic, as questionnaires which would typically be completed face-to-face with an interviewer are now being completed via phone. This has amplified concerns surrounding these triggering and challenging questions when the interaction between participant and researcher is limited to a voice call, preventing the ability of researchers to be guided by body language. Given the sensitive nature of this research topic and the fact that research participants are likely to have backgrounds of significant disadvantage (including histories of injecting drug use and criminal justice involvement), the student must have the capacity to be open-minded and non-judging. The project start date is flexible, but completion will be expected by the end of 2021. It is anticipated that participant interviews will be conducted face-to-face in the community, unless COVID-19 restrictions prevent this happening, in which case interviews will be conducted via phone/internet