Improving Nurses' Attitudes Toward Substance Use Disorder: Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Addiction Medicine
• Healthcare Attitudes

Background:

• Patients with substance use disorder (SUD) face healthcare barriers, including negative attitudes from healthcare personnel.
• Nurses have demonstrated less tolerant attitudes towards patients with SUD compared to other healthcare professions.
• Therapeutic attitudes of nurses can be improved through knowledge acquisition and role support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a 2-hour educational session on Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) on nurses' therapeutic attitudes toward patients with SUD.
• To assess the effectiveness of SBIRT as an educational intervention for licensed nurses.
• To explore the influence of Peplau's theory of interpersonal relations on the nurse-patient relationship in the context of SUD care.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental pretest/posttest design was employed.
• 65 registered nurses in a New England teaching hospital participated.
• Attitudes were measured pre and post a 2-hour SBIRT educational session using the Drug and Drug Problems Perceptions Questionnaire.

Main Results:

• A paired t test revealed statistically significant improvements in nurses' attitudes postintervention.
• Prior education on SUD was significantly correlated with baseline attitudes.
• Regression analysis indicated that practice setting, family history of SUD, and prior education did not predict baseline attitudes.

Conclusions:

• SBIRT educational sessions effectively improve nurses' therapeutic attitudes toward patients with SUD.
• Implementing SBIRT should be considered a mandatory nursing competency in undergraduate curricula and for licensed nurses.
• Enhancing nurses' knowledge and skills through SBIRT can mitigate negative attitudes and improve patient care outcomes.