Brief Description
The Tobacco, Alcohol, Prescription Medication, and Other Substance Use Tool (TAPS-1) is a brief screening instrument designed to assess substance use across four domains: tobacco, alcohol, prescription medications, and other substances. The TAPS-1 is the first part of a two-part tool that includes a brief self-report questionnaire. It asks patients about their use of these substances over the past 12 months. Responses range from “Never” to “Daily or almost daily.” The primary purpose of the TAPS-1 is to quickly identify individuals who may be at risk for substance use disorders, allowing healthcare providers to conduct further assessment or refer the patient to appropriate care if necessary. The tool is designed for use in a variety of clinical settings, making it accessible and practical for routine screening.
Assessment Administration Type
Self-report
Number of questions
4
Age Range for Administration
12+
Recommended Frequency of Administration
Instructions on the measure suggest yearly use as it was developed for a primary care setting. Mental health clinicians should use their best clinical judgment to determine an appropriate cadence for their clientele. Tracking progress on a yearly basis may not be feasible for many practitioners, and more frequent administration may be beneficial.
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
The TAPS-1 assesses four categories of substance use: tobacco, alcohol, prescription medications, and other drugs. For each substance category, respondents answer questions about their use frequency on a 5-point Likert scale. The responses are scored on a scale ranging from "Never" (0 points) to "Daily or almost daily" (4 points). If any substance use is reported using the TAPS-1 (score of 1 or higher), further assessment is recommended using the TAPS-2 tool, which inquires about use-related behaviors.
Blueprint Adjustments
The original TAPS-1 assessment includes separate questions for men and women to assess alcohol use. These questions are combined on the Blueprint platform because the platform requires that all questions be answered on an assessment.
Clinical Considerations
Estimated time for completion: 1-2 minutes
A limitation of the assessment is it has one question that requests response based on sex assigned at birth using a binary category; thus, this may not be inclusive for those who don’t identify with either category listed.
TAPS-2, which is the follow up measure for the TAPS-1, is also available on Blueprint.
Citation
McNeely, J., Wu, L. T., Subramaniam, G., Sharma, G., Cathers, L. A., Svikis, D., & Schwartz, R. P. (2016). Performance of the tobacco, alcohol, prescription medication, and other substance use (TAPS) tool for substance use screening in primary care patients. Annals of Internal Medicine, 165(10), 690-699. https://doi.org/10.7326/M16-0317
Relevant Articles + Further Resources
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