ABSTRACT – TAPS-ESP Language accessibility and cultural awareness are essential elements of quality healthcare. Limited English Proficiency (LEP) individuals are less likely to self-identify a need for behavioral health services, which results in longer duration of untreated disorders. Accurate identification, diagnosis, and treatment are entirely dependent on a linguistically-accurate screening and assessment, especially for sensitive topics such as substance use. Recently, the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network (NIDA CTN) developed and validated the Tobacco, Alcohol, Prescription drug, and illicit Substance use (TAPS) Tool, a two-stage screening and brief assessment tool to detect substance use problems in primary care. The current study will develop a technology platform for delivering the TAPS Tool to a Spanish-speaking, health disparity population. This Phase 1 STTR project will involve the research-driven adaptation of the TAPS into Spanish using cognitive interviewing methods, its deployment on a self-administered mobile/tablet technology platform, and an empirical study of the platform’s feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary validity in a Spanish-speaking primary care sample. We refer to this novel adaptation of the TAPS Tool as the TAPS-Electronic Spanish Platform, or TAPS-ESP. The project will lead to a technology application that could expand access to evidence-based, linguistically- accurate substance use screening and assessment for an underserved health disparity population. The technology could have significant public health impact and commercial viability given the growing Hispanic population in the US and the increasingly prominent role of primary care practices in addressing substance use problems. This Phase 1 study will lay the groundwork for a Phase 2 STTR focused on the broader validation and implementation of the TAPS-ESP platform, and its full integration into electronic health records systems.

Project Narrative – TAPS-ESP The TAPS Tool is a newly validated two-stage screening and brief assessment to identify substance use problems in primary care. This Phase 1 STTR project will develop and test a Spanish-language version of the TAPS Tool in a self-administered mobile/tablet technology platform (the TAPS-Electronic Spanish Platform, or TAPS-ESP). This technology could expand access to evidence-based, linguistically-accurate, and culturally- relevant substance use screening and assessment for an underserved health disparity population.