Training mental health residents in tobacco and alcohol: Relationship with their clinical intervention

The objective of this study is to describe how mental health professionals in training (residents) apply the brief intervention (5As) on the tobacco and alcohol consumption to their patients, and if this is related to the training received and/or their own consumption. This is a cross-sectional study in which a self-reported questionnaire was administered to first-year residents of mental health professionals in Catalonia (2016-2019) (psychiatrists, psychologists and nurses). We performed a descriptive analysis of the variables and we applied a chi-square test for the comparison of proportions. 154 professionals completed the questionnaire. Half of them had not received any university training on intervention in smoking (46.8%) or in alcohol consumption (53.2%). Those who had received it, advised, assessed and helped their patients to quit smoking more frequently (p = 0.008, p = 0.037 and p = 0.039; respectively). Those who had received training in alcohol intervention gave advice, performed assessments and offered help to quit/reduce alcohol among their patients more frequently (p < 0,001; p = 0,001; y p < 0,001; respectively). Residents usually helped more to quit or reduce alcohol than to quit tobacco (p < 0,001). 60.1% of them never or rarely helped their patients to stop smoking and 34.6% rarely helped in the case of alcohol. In general, nurses did more intervention for tobacco than alcohol use, regardless of the training received. The lack of training of professionals in tobacco and alcohol intervention at university is related to a lack of intervention on patients in their professional practice, regardless of their own consumption.