Pediatric Primary Care Provider Perspectives on a Computer-Facilitated Screening and Brief Intervention System for...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric primary care
• Adolescent substance use intervention
• Digital health technology

Background:

• Adolescent substance use is a significant public health concern.
• Primary care settings offer opportunities for early intervention.
• Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) is an evidence-based approach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the acceptability and feasibility of a tablet-based Screening and Brief Intervention (cSBI) system.
• To gather feedback from pediatric primary care providers (PCPs) on implementing cSBI.
• To evaluate cSBI for adolescent substance use in a primary care pilot study.

Main Methods:

• A pilot randomized trial comparing cSBI to usual care was conducted in five Boston area practices.
• Pediatric PCPs were trained on the cSBI system.
• PCPs (n=49) completed a poststudy questionnaire, including thematic coding of open-ended responses.

Main Results:

• High acceptability: 89.8% found the cSBI system useful, and 81.6% reported increased confidence in counseling.
• Key benefits included immediate results, talking points, and counseling prompts.
• Challenges involved time constraints and tablet unfamiliarity; electronic health record integration was suggested for efficiency.

Conclusions:

• The tablet-facilitated cSBI system demonstrated high acceptability and boosted PCP confidence in addressing adolescent substance use.
• Enhancing feasibility requires addressing implementation challenges, particularly through electronic health record integration.