Global Assessment of Training Needs in Addiction Medicine

A minority of addiction patients receive appropriate treatment directly from trained professionals in addiction medicine. Most countries have not recognized addiction medicine (AM) as a specialty in its own right or within psychiatry/other specialties. Therefore, the effectiveness and organization of AM training around the world need to be improved. Unfortunately, standard instruments are rarely used in most studies to assess training needs. This study aimed to determine international competencies in AM among professionals in as many countries as possible using a standard instrument such as the AM Training Needs Assessment (AM-TNA).

We examined competencies in AM with the AM-TNA using an online survey. A General Competency Level in Addiction Medicine (GLOCIAM30) was calculated by dividing the total score by the number of 30 items. This GLOCIAM30 was used to measure the general level of competency in AM and to compare individual competencies.

One hundred ninety-nine respondents from 45 countries completed the survey. Ninety-five of the 199 respondents (49.0%) had a GLOCIAM30 higher or equal to 4 (fairly competent). The highest skill level was found for the competency "Assessing substance use problems by taking the patient's history." Nine of the 45 countries had 8 or more respondents (n = 129). After post hoc analysis, there was no difference between these countries. Respondents could reasonably estimate whether the competency level in their country was higher or lower than the world average.

This study is the first international attempt to examine competencies in AM. Although a much larger study population is needed to establish an overall goal for competencies in AM, our study provided an initial direction for such a gold standard in benchmarking procedures.