Using needs assessment to develop curricula for screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) in...

This article describes the use of a brief needs assessment survey in the development of alcohol and drug screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) curricula in 2 health care settings in the San Francisco Bay Area. The samples included university medical center faculty (n = 27) and nonphysician community health and social service providers in a nearby suburban county (n = 21). Informed by curriculum development theory and motivational interviewing strategies, questions regarding clinical and educational priorities, perceived importance and confidence with screening and intervention techniques, and referral resource availability were included. Medical center faculty expressed greater concern about limited appointment time (P = .003), adequacy of training (P = .025), and provider confidence (P = .038) as implementation obstacles and had lower confidence in delivering SBIRT (P = .046) and providing treatment referrals (P = .054) than community providers. The authors describe their approach to integrating needs assessment results into subsequent curriculum development. Findings highlight potential differences between physician and nonphysician training needs.