389P
Implementing SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment) into Advanced Generalist Social Work Education
Background and Purpose:
Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) reduces mortality, alcohol and/or substance use, and healthcare and societal costs. Training in SBIRT by graduate social work students will improve identification and intervention aimed to reduce negative consequences related to at-risk use. At-risk use compromises longevity due to physiological and emotional complications that negatively impact healthy aging. SAMSHA and CSWE encourage social workers to adopt SBIRT in their practice. SBIRT, an evidence-based modality, is supported by organizations such as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Part of the inter-professional collaboration of the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Social Work and School of Nursing and Health Studies, this research represents a SAMHSA-funded project that integrated SBIRT training into an Advance Generalist Master Social Work Program. Master Social Work students received SBIRT training during a field seminar, which was reinforced in their concurrent practice class and in some cases an elective in mental health and substance abuse. Training was supported through opportunities to practice SBIRT skills in practicum placements. Training included a series of online tutorials, followed by didactic classroom instruction, and by practicing newly developed skills with classmates and faculty. Student competency was assessed by expert coding of an audiotaped interaction with a standardized patient in simulated medical settings using an SBIRT fidelity scale.
Methods and Findings:
Students completed surveys prior to, immediately after, and 30 days after SBIRT training. Surveys covered attitudes and knowledge. Students showed increased knowledge of SBIRT, including screening and brief intervention components, and progress in developing skills to provide SBIRT interventions. By the time of this presentation two additional cohorts will have completed the project.
Conclusions and Implications:
Training and education on SBIRT can readily be implemented into graduate social work education, providing future MSWs with a marketable skill in an emerging area of practice with which they can help clients lead longer, healthier lives.