A Multidisciplinary Program to Train Health Professionals in the SBIRT Model

The UKCOSW will develop, implement and further disseminate the SBIRT training model to improve health professions provider (HPP) capabilities to identify and intervene with substance use among patients in primary care and discipline specific settings (e.g., dental offices). This will include improved communication and referral with subspecialty physician and non-physician care providers. Alcohol abuse and non-medical use of prescription medications contribute to major health problems in our region that have a significant burden for our patients and are a challenge to HPPs across the region. Multiple disciplines including social work, pharmacy, counseling psychology, dentistry, Physician Assistants, and Family Medicine will be trained under this project. An evidence-based curriculum delivering required components developed with the SAMHSA Residency Training Projects will be developed including continuing education activities for practicing HPPs and didactic and clinical experiences for UK trainees in University of Kentucky Department of Family and Community Medicine primary care practice. In addition, a systems-based implementation team will ensure that clinical training curricular objectives and SBIRT applications occur and are sustained beyond the project period. One innovation will link the curriculum and its implementation to elements of the patient centered medical home model of patient care. This model is likely to be required for medical care delivery systems in the near future. To further add to the proposal, the project will promote wider dissemination of SBIRT practices by developing cultural adaptations of the curriculum to meet the unique needs of the rural Appalachian population. Evaluation will judge accomplishment of project objectives, trainee learning, trainees practice changes, and implementation of SBIRT. The proposed project is designed to increase access to SBIRT training for behavioral health workers entering and continuing practice in Kentucky. In conjunction with the UK College of Medicine, the College of Social Work has established an infrastructure within the clinical social work concentration in the form of an Integrated Behavioral Health Track to prepare students in the next three years for integrated behavioral health practice. In result, the SBIRT curriculum will be implemented through this existing infrastructure in the form of electives, CEUs (training the community), conferences, and job fairs. In addition, SBIRT will be infused into the second year UKCOSW clinical social work curriculum. The four major goals of the project are: Goal 1. Develop SBIRT training curriculum to train all clinical MSW students and Family Medicine (FM) residents in competencies based on SAMHSA Medical Residency grants. Goal 2. Expand SBIRT curricular reach by inclusion in other UK health professions programs and create plan to sustain its inclusion beyond the lifetime of the grant. Goal 3: Examine and insure diversity of SBIRT trainees AND adapt curriculum to ensure cultural competence with rural populations. Goal 4: Disseminate and sustain SBIRT.