Educating Ambulatory Care Nurses to Address Substance Use.

Area of Science:

• Nursing education
• Substance use disorder treatment
• Public health interventions

Background:

• Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) significantly impacts health outcomes and healthcare costs.
• Nurses in ambulatory care often have limited knowledge of evidence-based SBIRT for substance use.
• Addressing this knowledge gap is crucial for effective patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of an online SBIRT training program for nurses.
• To assess changes in nurses' knowledge regarding substance use screening, brief intervention, and referral.
• To identify facilitators and barriers to SBIRT implementation in ambulatory care settings.

Main Methods:

• A pre- and post-intervention study design was employed.
• Nurses participated in a self-paced online program covering alcohol/drug screening, motivational interviewing, and treatment referral.
• Data analysis focused on knowledge score changes and qualitative themes of facilitators/barriers.

Main Results:

• Post-intervention knowledge scores demonstrated a statistically significant increase (P < .001).
• Key themes identified as facilitators and barriers included time constraints, educational needs, available resources, professional receptivity, and interprofessional collaboration.
• The online program proved feasible for nurses to complete during work hours.

Conclusions:

• The online SBIRT program is a feasible and effective method for increasing nurses' knowledge.
• Enhanced SBIRT knowledge among nurses can improve the delivery of substance use interventions in ambulatory care.
• Further research should explore strategies to overcome identified implementation barriers.