EPA-0545 - Advancing Multidisciplinary Education for Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) mental and substance use disorders will surpass all physical diseases as the major cause of disability by the year 2020. The abuse of alcohol results in 2.5 million deaths annually, including 320,000 young people between the age of 15 and 29, and at least 15.3 million people have drug use disorders (WHO, 2013). The Indiana University Center for Health Policy studied the economic impact of substance abuse in Indiana and found that substance abuse and addiction have a powerful impact on all sectors of our society including education, criminal justice, health, workforce and public safety. Total cost for the state in 2008 was $7.3 billion and the professional capacity for nurturing the health of our citizens is woefully inadequate. With funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, faculty at Indiana University's Schools of Nursing, Social Work, and Medicine integrated Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) into our health care education systems in order to improve the health of the large number of adolescents and adults at risk for one or more substance use disorders. SBIRT training was incorporated in select courses in each of the three schools using tailored webbased educational modules and face-to-face motivational interview (MI) training to prepare participants' for clinical practica. Innovative curricular materials will be presented as well as preliminary data on participants' knowledge, skills and attitudes related to training.