The effects of screening brief intervention referral to treatment (SBIRT) training on health professional trainees’ regard, attitudes, and beliefs toward patients who use substances

Abstract

Background: Screening Brief Intervention Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) was developed as an integrated and comprehensive public health approach that includes early screening and intervention to address substance use in a variety of health care settings. Research suggests that SBIRT is effective in reducing substance use in individuals whose use places them at higher risk for negative health and social consequences. However, less is known about how training in SBIRT modifies attitudes, regard, and beliefs toward people who use substances. Methods: Participants included 461 students from a variety of healthcare related disciplines (physician assistant, nurse practitioner, pharmacy, psychiatry and psychology, and medical students). Participants were evaluated using a pre-post design to assess changes in regard, attitudes, and beliefs by completing the Short Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perception Questionnaire, the Drug Problem Perception Questionnaire, the Medical Condition Regard Scale, and the Short Understanding of Substance Abuse Scale before and after a 7-hour SBIRT training program. We hypothesized that trainees would have more positive regard, attitudes, and beliefs toward people who use substances following training in SBIRT relative to a baseline assessment and that there would be between program differences. Results: Results were consistent with hypotheses and suggested that trainees had significantly more positive regard and changes in attitudes and beliefs toward working with patients who use substances following training in SBIRT. Results also suggested significant differences by training group at baseline and at 30-day follow up. Conclusions: Overall, the findings suggest that an important additional benefit of SBIRT is the impact it has on mitigating healthcare professional trainees’ negative regard and modifying attitudes and beliefs toward those who use substances.

Keywords:

• SBIRT
• substance use
• stigma
• regard
• attitudes

Author contributions

Mark Lukowitsky contributed to the research design, data analysis, writing.

Victoria Balkoski contributed to the research design and writing.

Nicole Bromley contributed to the research design and writing.

Patrician Ann Gallagher contributed to assistance with training and research organization. The funding organization had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Acknowledgements

We thank Psychology Post-docs from the AMC SBIRT program for helping with the training.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by SAMHSA Grant [1U7TI026479].