SBIRT goes to college: interdisciplinary screening for alcohol use

Although risky/harmful drinking, in the form of binge drinking, remains a national problem, only recently have health services in universities systematically screened for drinking, drug use, and smoking. This article recounts "lessons learned" in two nurse-directed, interdisciplinary health services, which adapted the National College Depression Partnership model to include screening and brief intervention (SBIRT) for risky/harmful alcohol use in the form of binge drinking. Using a planned change model, nurse leaders worked with university administrators, providers, and health service staff to screen all students seeking health services for risky drinking. The outcomes suggest that this process may increase staff and student awareness of the importance of alcohol consumption to health, show the ease of using SBIRT screening along with standard screening tools, and yield information on the normalization of high-risk drinking in collegiate settings. Project findings indicate that common perceptions in college students minimize negative outcomes and stress the importance of additional quality assurance initiatives that review the efficacy of combinations of standardized screening tools.