Leanne Hides

• B Beh Sc (Hons), PhD (Clin)
• Professor at Queensland University of Technology

Introduction Population‐level smoking (cigarette or tobacco or nicotine use) has reduced in high‐income nations, but not proportionally compared to less developed regions. This study aimed to estimate smoking prevalence in Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). Approach Databases searched included PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, African Journal Online, the Global He...

Introduction Preliminary evidence supports the use of patient‐reported outcome measures (PROM) and feedback for enhancing client outcomes in alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment. However, successful implementation remains challenging. This mixed‐methods study applied the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) framework to exami...

Background: Polysubstance use is common among people who use methamphetamine. This prospective study examined the three-month polysubstance use profiles among people enrolled in outpatient treatment for methamphetamine use and associated substance use, mental health, and treatment correlates. Method: The present study used routinely collected cl...

Background and aims: Social media vaping awareness campaigns can potentially reduce youth vaping prevalence but creating effective campaign materials is time-consuming and resource-intensive. Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers capabilities for rapidly producing materials at scale, however, little is known about how youth perceive AI-generated mult...

This cost-utility analysis adopted societal and health sector perspectives evaluating combined and individual approaches to universal prevention of substance use, depression, and anxiety in 6,386 high school students within the Climate Schools Combined cluster randomised trial. Costs included program delivery, self-reported healthcare utilisation,...

Aims: The final year of high school is a challenging phase, during which substance use is common. We conducted longitudinal and cohort comparisons on the levels of alcohol and cannabis use among final year (Year 12) high school students compared to the previous year. Design: Longitudinal and cohort analyses of self-reported survey data. Setting: Te...

Introduction Routine outcome monitoring (ROM) and feedback is an evidence‐supported strategy for evaluating alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment outcomes. However, the implementation of ROM and feedback into AOD services remains a significant challenge. Research aimed at understanding client perspectives on ROM and feedback is needed to facilitat...

Introduction Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) can offer affordable, accessible and anonymous delivery of mental health treatment as an alternative or complement to face-to-face services. To enhance acceptability of, and treatment engagement with, youth DMHIs, they should be co-designed with young people and their caregivers. This study f...

Background Gaming Disorder was included as an addictive disorder in the latest version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), published in 2022. The present study aimed to develop a screening tool for Gaming Disorder, the Gaming Disorder Identification Test (GADIT), based on the four ICD-11 diagnostic criteria: impaired control,...

Objectives Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an evidence‐based treatment for people with emerging borderline personality disorder (BPD). In “real world” clinical settings, standard DBT is resource intensive. Emerging evidence suggests that group‐based DBT skills training alone can lead to promising outcomes. This hybrid type 1 effectiveness‐imp...

Background and aims Population‐level alcohol use data are available from high‐income countries, but limited research has been conducted in sub‐Saharan Africa. This systematic review and meta‐analysis aimed to summarize population‐level alcohol use in sub‐Saharan Africa. Method Databases searched included PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO and AJOL, without...

Objectives To investigate the effectiveness of a school‐based multiple health behaviour change e‐health intervention for modifying risk factors for chronic disease (secondary outcomes). Study design Cluster randomised controlled trial. Setting, participants Students (at baseline [2019]: year 7, 11–14 years old) at 71 Australian public, independen...

Please cite this article as: C.M. Rushton, P.J. Kelly, T. Thomas, et al., SMART Family and Friends: Feasibility and outcomes of a video-conference delivered intervention for families impacted by another's methamphetamine use, (2023), https://doi.

The increasing prevalence of e-cigarette use (“vaping”) among youth has emerged as a public health concern. We aim to explore vape use, knowledge levels, and correlates in a sample of Australian young adults. Participants from six residential university colleges in Queensland, Australia, were invited to complete an online survey. The sample include...

Introduction COVID-19 and related travel and social restrictions caused significant stress for university students in Australia and globally. Learning quickly moved online and many students (particularly international students) were separated from social and economic support. This study examined the impact of the pandemic from pre-pandemic (2019) t...

Individuals who access residential treatment for substance use disorders are at a greater risk of negative health and substance-use outcomes upon exiting treatment. Using linked data, we aimed to identify predictive factors and the critical period for alcohol or other drug (AOD)-related events following discharge. Participants include 1056 individu...

Understanding mental healthcare seeking and associated factors is essential for planning mental health services. This study aimed to assess treatment seeking and barriers to care for depressive symptoms and hazardous drinking in a community sample of Northwest Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted to screen 1,728 participants for depressi...

Introduction Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) offer a promising alternative or adjunct treatment method to face-to-face treatment, overcoming barriers associated with stigma, access, and cost. This project is embedded in user experience and co-design to enhance the potential acceptability, usability and integration of digital platforms i...

Introduction Comorbidity between Substance Use Disorders and trauma/post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common, particularly within residential treatment services. Comorbidity is associated with poorer treatment retention and treatment outcomes. Integrated treatment approaches are increasingly recommended but are still under examined in reside...

Background: COVID-19 prompted widespread transition of face-to-face mutual-help groups to virtual delivery. Current understanding of the experience of virtual mutual-help groups is limited to 12-step approaches or asynchronous groups (e.g., forums). This paper explores participant and facilitator perspectives regarding the benefits and challenges...

Background Mental health and substance use disorders typically emerge early in life with impacts extending into early adulthood. Longitudinal studies are well-placed to investigate the progression of mental health and substance use disorders in adolescents. However, a significant challenge of longitudinal studies is sample attrition, or failure to...

The aim of this study is to examine e-cigarette use among high school students and the associated risk factors for the use of flavour-only or nicotine vapes. Grade 12 students (N = 855) of 2020 from nine Australian schools completed a cross-sectional self-report survey. Correlates examined included age, gender, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander,...

Background: Online self-report measures are resource-efficient and widely used for monitoring substance use, yet few studies have assessed their reliability. This study assessed the reliability of online self-report versions of the Australian Treatment Outcomes Profile (ATOP) and Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST)...

Background Effective and scalable prevention approaches are urgently needed to address the rapidly increasing rates of e-cigarette use among adolescents. School-based eHealth interventions can be an efficient, effective, and economical approach, yet there are none targeting e-cigarettes within Australia. This paper describes the protocol of the Our...

Introduction: Alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment services were required to rapidly adapt delivery of care in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This study examined longitudinal changes in the delivery of AOD counselling in Australia over 21 months (October 2019–July 2021) before and throughout the pandemic, using both staff self-r...

Background: Lifestyle risk behaviours are prevalent among adolescents and commonly co-occur, but current intervention approaches tend to focus on single risk behaviours. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the eHealth intervention Health4Life in modifying six key lifestyle risk behaviours (ie, alcohol use, tobacco smoking, recreational sc...

Background and aims: The most available data on the prevalence of cannabis use come from population surveys conducted in high-income countries in North America, Oceania, and Europe. Less is known about the prevalence of cannabis use in Africa. This systematic review aimed to summarize general population-level cannabis use in Sub-Saharan Africa sin...

Background Effective and scalable prevention approaches are urgently needed to address the rapidly increasing rates of e-cigarette use among adolescents. School-based eHealth interventions can be an efficient, effective, and economical approach, yet there are none targeting e-cigarettes within Australia. This paper describes the protocol of the Our...

Objective: Web-based dietary interventions could support healthy eating. The Advice, Ideas and Motivation for My Eating (Aim4Me) trial investigated the impact of three levels of personalised web-based dietary feedback on diet quality in young adults. Secondary aims were to investigate participant retention, engagement, and satisfaction. Design:...

Residential treatment is a common option for individuals with moderate to severe substance use disorders. In a cohort of individuals who accessed residential treatment, we investigated client demographic, substance use, mental health, treatment, and psychological predictors of treatment completion. Participants were a retrospective cohort of 1056 (...

Existing literature based on Social Cognitive Theory has established key environmental and cognitive variables related to problem drinking in emerging adults, but further research is needed to understand the interaction between these variables. The aim of this study was to extend understanding of how environmental and cognitive variables interact t...

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic prompted rapid, reflexive transition from face-to-face to online healthcare. For group-based addiction services, evidence for the impact on service delivery and participant experience is limited. Methods: A 12-month (plus 2-month follow-up) pragmatic evaluation of the upscaling of online mutual-help groups by SM...

Introduction: This study examines age, time period and birth cohort trends in cannabis use intention and weekly use in Australia over a period in which medicinal cannabis was legalised. Methods: Hierarchical age-period-cohort models were used to analyse the National Drug Strategy Household Survey between 2001 and 2019, including 158,395 particip...

This cohort-controlled trial examined whether the 12-session Grit Wellbeing and Self-regulation Program enhanced the treatment outcomes of young people accessing residential alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment. Grit focuses on increasing wellbeing and reducing substance use and mental health problems by building self-regulation skills, strengths...

The final year of high school is a challenging phase of adolescents’ lives and substance use can play an important role. We examined changes in the frequency and quantity of alcohol and cannabis use, and demographic correlates among Grade 12 students of 2020. Students (N = 844) from nine schools retrospectively self-reported changes in substance us...

Introduction: Systemic cultural factors related to excessive alcohol consumption have been identified in Australian university residential colleges. In this mixed methods study, we conducted focus groups with student leaders at three Australian residential colleges. We aimed to explore students' perceptions of alcohol use and related consequences...

Introduction: Comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is prevalent among people seeking residential treatment for substance use disorders (SUD). We examined client and staff perceptions of the relationship between trauma and SUDs, and the integration of trauma-informed care (TIC) and specialist-delivered treatment for PTSD in residential alc...

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the transition of Australian Self-Management and Recovery Training (SMART) Recovery mutual support groups to virtual delivery. This study examined the self-reported experience of online SMART Recovery groups for people seeking support for methamphetamine use (alone or in combination with other behaviour...

Background Lifetime trajectories of mental ill-health are often established during adolescence. Effective interventions to prevent the emergence of mental health problems are needed. In the current study we assessed the efficacy of the cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-informed Climate Schools universal eHealth preventive mental health programme,...

Note: We respectfully refer to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Indigenous in this study. Objective: To design and develop an Indigenous specific suicide intervention skills program that focuses on education and intervention training as an effective suicide prevention strategy. Method: Using a co-designed wrap-around framework, w...

Background and aims: People with substance use disorders (SUDs) frequently present to treatment with polysubstance use and mental health comorbidities. Different combinations of substance use and mental health problems require different treatment approaches. Our study aimed to: (i) identify the shared substance use classes among young people at tr...

Objective To investigate associations between eating behavior constructs (social eating, perceived competence, habit automaticity, self-determined motivation) and diet quality among young adults. Design Cross-sectional analysis. Participants Young adults (n = 1,005; mean age, 21.7 ± 2.0 years; 85% female) enrolled in the Advice, Ideas, and Motiva...

Background: In many countries, the rate of binge drinking and alcohol-related harms among students living in residential colleges exceeds that observed among young people in the general population. Peer influence plays a key role in driving alcohol and other drug (AOD) use in colleges. This highlights the potential role of peer influence AOD-inter...

Objective Given that a high drive for muscularity (DM) has been found to be associated with negative mental health outcomes for men, this research examined pathways involving social influence which may explain why some men are more susceptible to a DM than others. Method Building on previous qualitative research, this study examined psychosocial f...

Introduction: Internationally, clinical/practice supervision is considered essential in the development and maintenance of professional proficiency across health disciplines. Among alcohol and other drug (AOD) workers, however, access to effective clinical supervision is limited. This study examined perceived barriers and facilitators to: (i) AOD...

Sharper Minds is a stepped care package designed by the researchers in collaboration with students and UQ Health Care providers to increase awareness and use of mental health prevention strategies among first year university students. The package was 'soft launched' in 2021, and this report presents findings from the pilot evaluation. The pilot ado...

Background Alcohol and other drug (AOD) use patterns have altered as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic restrictions. This study aimed to: (i) determine the impact of the pandemic on patterns of AOD use among individuals seeking treatment, (ii) identify which mental health and resilience factors were associated with changes in patterns...

Childhood trauma (abuse and neglect) is a major risk factor for cannabis use disorder and psychotic-spectrum disorders. Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in young people who use cannabis may be an early indicator of psychosis risk following cannabis use. We examined whether (i) childhood trauma moderates the association between cannabis use and PLE...

Background New parents face increased risks of emotional distress and relationship dissatisfaction. Digital interventions increase support access, but few preventive programs are optimized for both parents. Objective This study aims to conduct the first randomized controlled trial on universal self-guided digital programs to support positive perin...

Background. Lifetime trajectories of mental ill health are often established during adolescence. Effective interventions to prevent the emergence of mental health problems are needed. In the current study we assessed the efficacy of the CBT informed Climate Schools universal eHealth preventive mental health program, relative to a control. We also e...

Introduction: Transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) targets common psychological factors that underlie multiple disorders. While transdiagnostic interventions are a promising new approach, limited research has evaluated these treatments within the alcohol and other drug (AOD) sector for young people with comorbid mental health sympto...

Background: Mutual support groups are an important source of long-term help for people impacted by addictive behaviors. Routine outcome monitoring (ROM) and feedback are yet to be implemented in these settings. SMART Recovery mutual support groups focus on self-empowerment and use evidence-based techniques (eg, motivational and behavioral strategi...

Summary of recommendations and levels of evidence Chapter 2: Screening and assessment for unhealthy alcohol use Screening • Screening for unhealthy alcohol use and appropriate interventions should be implemented in general practice (Level A), hospitals (Level B), emergency departments and community health and welfare settings (Level C). • Quantit...

Aims To estimate the treatment rate for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in the general adult population. Treatment rates were also considered in relation to economic differences. Methods Systematic review and meta‐analysis. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL databases to identify studies that reported treatment rates for alcohol use dis...

Youth aged 16–24 years have the highest prevalence of mental illness in Australia, accounting for 26% of all mental illness. Youth mental health peer support work is a promising avenue of support for this population. However, limited research has examined impacts on those who provide youth mental health peer support work. We aimed to identify the b...

Introduction Individuals with moderate to severe substance use disorders may seek residential treatment, but outcomes after discharge for this hard-to-reach population are often unknown. Using linked data, we examined mortality outcomes among individuals after residential treatment. Methods We included 1056 individuals admitted to three residentia...

Background Physical inactivity, poor diet, sedentary recreational screen time, poor sleep, alcohol use and smoking (the “Big 6”) are key lifestyle risk factors for chronic disease. The Big 6 typically emerge during adolescence, co-occur and continue into adulthood. To improve short- and long-term health, early and effective prevention is critical....

Background Depression is considered a global crisis due to its high prevalence and associated disabilities. The burden posed by depression could be reduced by increasing access to timely treatment. Limited information is available on treatment rates of depression, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to estimate the tr...

Background: Depression is one of the prevalent mental illnesses and leading cause of global disease burden. However, most people with depression do not access treatment. Remission without treatment may occur in some cases of depression. This study aimed to estimate the short-term remission (natural recovery) from untreated depression. Methods: A...

Background Negative affect plays an important role in motivating problematic alcohol use. Consequently, training imagery-based adaptive responses to negative affect could reduce problematic alcohol use. The current study tested whether personalised online functional imagery training (FIT) to utilise positive mental imagery in response to negative a...

Background Specialist early intervention (SEI) service models are designed to treat symptoms, promote social and vocational recovery, prevent relapse, and resource and up-skill patients and their families. The benefits of SEI over the first few years have been demonstrated. While early recovery can be expected to translate to better long-term outco...

Background Mutual support groups play an extremely important role in providing opportunities for people to engage in alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment and support. SMART Recovery groups employ cognitive, behavioural and motivational principles and strategies to offer support for a range of addictive behaviours. COVID-19 fundamentally changed t...

Background: Routine outcome monitoring (ROM) has been implemented across a range of addiction treatment services, settings and organisations. Mutual support groups are a notable exception. Innovative solutions are needed. SMART Track is a purpose built smartphone app designed to capture ROM data and provide tailored feedback to adults attending Aus...

Objective: To generate outcomes for the development of a culturally appropriate mental health treatment model for Indigenous Australians with depression. Methods: Three focus group sessions and two semi-structured interviews were undertaken over six months across regional and rural locations in South West Queensland. Data were transcribed verbat...

Introduction Mutual support groups (e.g. SMART Recovery) are an important source of support for people experiencing addictive behaviours. Little is known about the use of mutual support groups by people who use methamphetamine, or the factors that may influence group cohesion. Methods This study uses post-group data reported by SMART Recovery faci...

Aim The aim of this study was to compare food and nutrient intakes of young Australian adults (18-24 years) to national recommendations as per the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and Nutrient Reference Values. Methods Dietary intake of 18 to 24 year olds (n = 1005) participating in the Advice, Ideas, and Motivation for My Eating (Aim4Me) study...

Introduction and Aims: Increasingly more Australians are in favor of legalizing medical and recreational cannabis use. This paper explored the personal characteristics of those who supported each of these policies in Australia. Design: Cross-sectional national survey. Methods: This study included 21,729 participants aged 18 years and above who resp...

Research has demonstrated that cannabis use is linked with a greater risk of psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), particularly in young people. As many people use cannabis for the alleviation of pain, it is important to examine the impact that PLEs have on pain. This is because the current literature finds that psychotic and schizophrenic disorders i...

Recent reviews have identified potential treatment targets for addictive overeating. These include: motivational interviewing, development of specific coping strategies for emotional regulation and the use of harm minimisation strategies based on interventions for substance use disorders. However, there is very little experiential evidence. The aim...

Background The number of mobile health apps (MHAs), which are developed to promote healthy behaviors, prevent disease onset, manage and cure diseases, or assist with rehabilitation measures, has exploded. App store star ratings and descriptions usually provide insufficient or even false information about app quality, although they are popular among...

BACKGROUND Mutual support groups are an important source of long-term help for people impacted by addictive behaviors. Routine outcome monitoring (ROM) and feedback are yet to be implemented in these settings. SMART Recovery mutual support groups focus on self-empowerment and use evidence-based techniques (eg, motivational and behavioral strategies...

Social robots show significant potential as a healthcare coach for chronic life-long conditions and within medical settings. This 8-week feasibility trial explored a robot-delivered talk-based program for adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes to coach diabetes management with a focus on healthy eating habits. Trial objectives were to assess initial recr...

Thwarted belongingness is an established predictor of suicide ideation. Emerging theory suggests belongingness may be a crucial pathway through which risk factors such as dysfunctional emotion regulation influence suicide ideation. This study examined whether belongingness mediated the relationship between emotion regulation and suicide ideation in...

The goals of this study were to determine the feasibility of engaging youth with major depressive disorder (MDD) in a multimodal exercise intervention (Healthy Body Healthy Mind) plus usual care and to evaluate the magnitude of its effects on psychological, physical fitness, and biomarker outcomes to inform a future randomized controlled trial. You...

BACKGROUND New mothers and fathers face increased risks of emotional distress and relationship dissatisfaction. Digital interventions may increase access to support, but few preventive programs are optimised to support both parents. OBJECTIVE To conduct the first randomised controlled trial on a universal self-guided digital program to support pos...

Introduction Applications or “mobile apps” are a potentially important source of assistance for serving and ex-serving Defence members with mental health problems. PTSD Coach Australia is a modified version of an application developed by the US Department of Veteran Affairs. Clinician perceptions of mobile apps are important as they influence the d...

Introduction Lifestyle risk behaviours, including alcohol use, smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity, poor sleep (duration and/or quality) and sedentary recreational screen time (‘the Big 6’), are strong determinants of chronic disease. These behaviours often emerge during adolescence and co-occur. School-based interventions have the potential to...

Background The burden of disease attributable to alcohol and other drug (AOD) use in young people is considerable. Prevention can be effective, yet few programs have demonstrated replicable effects. This study aimed to replicate research behind Climate Schools: Alcohol and Cannabis course among a large cohort of adolescents. Methods Seventy-one se...

Background and Aims Recent meta‐analyses of motivational interviewing (MI) for reducing risky alcohol use in young people have reported modest effects. Few studies have targeted individual patient factors to increase MI effectiveness. This study determined if MI enhanced with individualised personality‐specific coping skills training (QuikFix) was...

BACKGROUND Adolescence is a life stage characterized by intense development and increased vulnerability. Yet, often due to stigma and embarrassment, young people rarely seek help. Alarmingly, even those who do may not be able to receive it. Wellbeing-focussed interventions offer a protective factor against adversity. Highly-effective innovative, ac...

Background Adolescence is a life stage characterized by intense development and increased vulnerability. Yet, young people rarely seek help for mental health, often due to stigma and embarrassment. Alarmingly, even those who do seek help may not be able to receive it. Interventions focused on well-being offer a protective factor against adversity....

Background A four- to seven-fold increase in the prevalence of current mood, anxiety, substance use and any mental disorders in Indigenous adults compared with non-Indigenous Australians has been reported. A lifetime prevalence of major depressive disorder was 23.9%. High rates of comorbid mental disorders indicated a transdiagnostic approach to tr...

Australian Indigenous model of mental healthcare based on transdiagnostic cognitive–behavioural therapy co-designed with the Indigenous community: protocol for a randomised controlled trial – CORRIGENDUM - Volume 6 Issue 3 - Maree Toombs, Bushra Nasir, Steve Kisely, Srinivas Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan, Leanne Hides, Neeraj Gill, Gavin Beccaria, Sharo...

Social robots are increasingly demonstrating effectiveness as low-intensity behavior change agents. Key targets for these behavioral interventions include daily lifestyle behaviors with significant health consequences, such as the consumption of high-calorie foods and drinks (‘snacks’). A pilot randomized controlled trial using a stepped-wedge desi...