Grants Dashboard

The Program Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU) as part of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Pittsburgh (UPitt) proposes to implement "Pittsburgh SBIRT: Training Health Professions Students to Conduct Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment" (Pittsburgh SBIRT) for student pharmacists from the School of Pharmacy, and physician assistant and physical therapy students from the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Over three years, Pittsburgh SBIRT will provide training to 745 students that will result in measureable changes in targeted attitudes, knowledge and evidence-based skills regarding substance use and the provision of SBIRT. Pittsburgh SBIRT aims to provide curricula and clinical experiences for students to be able to implement SBIRT in an interprofessional setting upon completion. Program development will encourage sustainability after the grant expires, and will support UPitt's plans to apply integrated care throughout its system. PERU staff will conduct necessary data collection and analysis procedures. The program will be evaluated against its ability to positively impact targeted attitudes, knowledge and skill using strategies that have been successfully applied within a medical residency training grant previously funded by SAMHSA and a health professional training grant currently funded by SAMHSA. All trainees will complete a standardized survey about attitudes towards patients with substance use disorders and providing intervention to these patients; complete knowledge tests mapped to knowledge targets; and role-play with standardized cases observed by trained faculty with competency assessed via a standardized proficiency checklist. Evaluation will assist in improving the quality of the training and ensuring that the training program meets national standards for cultural competence.

SBIRT New Horizons is a program designed to train medical students to screen patients for unhealthy substance use, provide brief interventions at the point of care, and make referrals for specialized treatment. Approximately 152 medical students will be trained per year at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine. This program is an innovative instructional program encompassing large group learning sessions, small group simulation, supervised clinical practice with patients in an outpatient setting, and skills evaluation using a simulated encounter. It integrates learning horizontally preclinical disciplines around management of a pervasive patient problem, learning between preclinical and clinical years, and behavioral health techniques in a primary care setting. Students will receive classroom teaching about SBIRT, including learning core Motivational Interviewing techniques, and have the opportunity to rehearse skills in small group sessions with simulated patients before gaining clinical experience during their Outpatient Internal Medicine Clerkship. Their skills will be assessed with an objective structured clinical examination. Program goals are to 1) adapt existing curricula to incorporate SBIRT teaching and train 100% of medical students to perform SBIRT in outpatient clinical practice and 2) to enhance SBIRT implementation within the University of Iowa Health Care, Iowa City Veterans Affairs Health Care, and other health care systems throughout the state of Iowa. Over three years, 456 medical students will be trained. SBIRT New Horizons intramural partner, SBIRT-TIPS (Training Iowa Preceptors and Students), will train an additional 330 nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and their preceptors. SBIRT New Horizons and SBIRT-TIPS students will be prepared to use SBIRT in clinical practice after graduation and champion its adoption, creating "ripple effects" to promote more widespread SBIRT adoption.

The Orange County Community Health SBIRT Program will develop, implement and evaluate SBIRT training for bachelor and masters level California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) students in the departments of Social Work, Human Services, and School of Nursing. SBIRT students will be self-identifying first generation college and/or minority students. Core SBIRT curriculum will be implemented through skill building exercises in the classroom, online, and in field/clinical settings via training methods (lectures, online content, role-playing and simulation, and hands-on-training). The program goal is to develop and implement training programs to a) teach CSUF students in nursing, social work, and human services the skills necessary to provide evidence based screening and brief intervention and refer patients who are at risk for substance abuse disorder (SUD) to appropriate treatment (SBIRT Curriculum) and b) increase the number of healthcare professionals who are trained in SBIRT and are more capable of addressing the needs of persons with SUD. The program's success will be measured by the following objectives: 1) by the end of the first year, the program will develop and finalize the CSUF website and clearinghouse that will offer training modules for a distance learning platform that will be provided to community (local/statewide) health partner's staff and those needing additional technical assistance; 2) by the end of the program provide education in SBIRT curriculum to 650 CSUF students from multi-disciplinary backgrounds; 3) by the end of the program, 650 CSUF students will complete hands-on SBIRT training requirements at community health partner locations; 4) by the end of the program reach and provide training to 75 medical/healthcare community provider's staff with SBIRT curriculum and award certificates of completion and continuing education credits; and, 5) follow-up with 100% of students who completed the SBIRT curriculum training.

UGA SBIRT proposes to implement a SBIRT training curriculum for health profession students and faculty at the University of Georgia (UGA) Master of Social Work, Doctorate of Pharmacy, and Clinical Psychology Doctoral programs, Georgia State University (GSU) Master of Social Work program, and into curricula and clinical practice sites. Over three years, UGA SBIRT will train over 850 students, 15 faculty members, and 75 preceptors/practicum supervisors and deliver 6 regional trainings to reach up to 150 healthcare providers. Goals of UGA SBIRT are to: 1) integrate existing SBIRT curriculum into the didactic and clinical practice experiences; 2) provide students with the skills needed to provide evidence-based, culturally competent SBIRT services to patients with unhealthy alcohol or drug use; 3) implement SBIRT in clinical training sites utilized by participating programs; and 4) ensure sustainability of SBIRT in clinical practices throughout the state by promoting SBIRT through regional trainings, online continuing education opportunities, and ongoing advocacy at the state and local level. The project director and site coordinators in each program will ensure that SBIRT curriculum is integrated into student training and that faculty members delivering this curriculum are appropriately trained. SBIRT training will be delivered at two regional trainings per year targeting pharmacy, social work, and psychology professionals. The leadership team will meet monthly to review progress and troubleshoot issues. A Council of Directors will meet quarterly to steer policy and procedures, review reports, and develop sustainability plans. Project evaluation methodology will measure changes in knowledge and attitudes among students receiving SBIRT training, assess clinical competency by means of a web-based simulated patient and competency assessment, and conduct one-year follow-ups with program graduates to determine the extent of SBIRT implementation into practice.

Albany Medical College proposes to implement an integrated care SBIRT training in identification and intervention strategies for substance use disorders (SUD) within health sciences training programs in the community. Training goals include increasing knowledge and competence in: understanding SUD and associated health risks; screening for SUD and educating patients on the associated risks; intervening to motivate patients to change their behavior to decrease health risks; knowing options for treating SUD; referring patients at high risk for more specialized treatment; and understanding the bio psychosocial and cultural factors that may contribute to SUD and access to appropriate interventions and treatment. Approximately 200-250 students will be trained each year through training modalities such as interactive online modules, didactic classroom learning, demonstrations, group and paired role plays, standardized patients and observation of patient interactions. The SBIRT team will also contact school and non-profit organizations in the area to provide community outreach services on SUD. A Council of Directors, an interdisciplinary group of training directors and researchers in the program, will meet quarterly to monitor progress of the grant, as evidenced by changes in performance measures on knowledge, skills, and attitude/satisfaction of trainees over time. The Council of Directors will consult with community members with lived addiction experience and community practitioners to assist with program implementation and training. The Council of Directors will also identify faculty and/or preceptors at clinical sites throughout the community to participate in the training and to ensure program sustainability following the three-year term of the grant. Programs to increase skills in interdisciplinary collaboration between specialties will be developed to promote successful integrated care in the treatment of SUD.

Health Occupations Providing Excellence in SBIRT (HOPES) program at the University of South Carolina aims to customize, implement, and evaluate a SBIRT training program that teaches graduate students entering health occupations (nurses, social workers, and medical students) the skills necessary to provide evidence-based screening, brief intervention, and referrals to treatment for patients who are at risk for a substance use disorder (SUD). This program will develop the leadership skills necessary to champion the implementation of SBIRT throughout the South Carolina healthcare system by training site preceptors, where HOPES students are placed in field placements or clinics with the ultimate goal of substance use prevention, referral and early intervention. HOPES plans to addresses workforce development by increasing the number of health care professionals who can address the needs of persons at risk for SUD within medical health care systems that promote the integration of behavioral health through the following goals: 1) develop and implement didactic training and experiential training opportunities within each field placement or during clinical rounds that both prepare and offer live practice opportunities for the administration of SBIRT; 2) train 830 health occupation students and 60 Field Supervisors who have demonstrated a commitment to the skills acquisition necessary to provide SBIRT; 3) develop and expand medical community partnerships for the long-term integration and sustainability of SBIRT training in developing the health occupations workforce; 4) develop and implement a comprehensive evaluation plan to assess the effectiveness of the SBIRT training program in improving the SBIRT competence of HOPES participants; and 5) build a collaborative Council of Directors that works to sustain and continue SBIRT support after the grant ends.

The Department of Psychiatry of the University of Pittsburgh (UPitt), in collaboration with the UPitt Medical Center Addiction Medicine Services (AMS), is proposing to build on the work of the UPitt School of Pharmacy through a Medical Residency Training grant. Together, these partners will train, coach and credential 420 medical students in SBIRT over the three year grant. The most recent graduating class demonstrated a profile of specialty areas in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, Surgical Subspecialties, General Surgery, OB/GYN, Family Medicine, Medicine-Pediatrics and other specialties. Embedding SBIRT into the curriculum starting in year one and building on the curriculum each successive year will ensure the effectiveness of the knowledge transfer and support the adoption of the curriculum beyond the grant. Post-graduation, most medical students enter residencies where many will end up in one or more of the primary care specialties including rural primary care practice and/or working with the underserved. The mission of the UPitt SBIRT - Student Training program is to effectively train the identified medical students and at least two faculty members utilizing an innovative multi-media training approach using the approved evidence-based SAMHSA curriculum developed by the UPitt School of Pharmacy's Program Evaluation Research Unit (PERU). This curriculum will be individualized for medical students, and will encourage inter-professional learning via champions and clinical practice preceptors so that upon graduation, students are able to utilize SBIRT in any clinical site. In addition, select medical students will join the AMS SBIRT trainers through a train-the trainer opportunity, as PERU's excellence in training and evaluation skills are transferred to the AMS staff over the course of the grant. These champions will ultimately train the larger Behavioral Health professional community through the creation of an SBIRT Training Institute.

The University of New England (UNE) proposes to develop and implement Collaborative SBIRT Training for Maine's Future Health Profession Leaders, a three-year workforce development program to teach approximately 48 faculty, 1,600 students and 64 practitioners how to provide evidence-based screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for patients who are at risk for a substance use disorder (SUD). UNE students will learn about SUDs and SBIRT in a classroom and interactive trainings to develop leadership skills and interprofessional team skills. This training will equip students to be able to implement SBIRT as clinicians as well as integrate SBIRT within their clinical placements and future employment settings. Project goals are to: 1) develop and implement a student SBIRT training program; 2) advance the adoption and practice of SBIRT throughout Maine's system of care and 3) reduce behavioral health disparities among racial, ethnic, sexual and gender minorities by strategies to decrease differences in access, service use and outcomes. Objectives for the 1,600 UNE students are to: implement curricula to teach the implementation of SBIRT; nominate 20% to become Student SBIRT Leaders who will receive interactive skills, leadership and teamwork training; support students to implement SBIRT in their clinical placements. Objectives for the 64 practitioners are to: develop a cohort of SBIRT trainers qualified to train other trainers; train preceptors and other health practitioners to implement SBIRT; sponsor 16 as SBIRT Ambassadors; develop an online learning collaborative and a web-based clearinghouse to improve practitioners' access to information about (a) culturally and linguistically appropriate services, (b) ways to reduce disparities in SUD and behavioral health treatment access, use, and outcomes, and (c) help SBIRT Ambassadors to integrate SBIRT SUD interventions into their clinical practice.

The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC)-SBIRT: Increasing the Impact of SBIRT Training Across Health Professions program will implement a sustainable SBIRT training curriculum into the UMKC dentistry, medicine, and internal and emergency medicine residency programs that will be disseminated to local and regional healthcare systems. UMKC-SBIRT has the following goals: 1) integrate SBIRT into the didactic lessons and clinical practice experiences of the UMKC dentistry, medicine, and internal and emergency medicine residency programs, including modifying current SBIRT training curriculum and SBIRT for Health and Behavioral Health Professionals online course to reflect student needs and address local/regional patient demographics; 2) train 145 faculty and 87 field supervisors to educate and supervise students on SBIRT and incorporate curriculum into appropriate courses and clinical rotations; 3) train approximately 327 dental students, 360 medical students, 78 internal medicine residents, and 55 emergency medicine residents to competently perform SBIRT with patients with harmful/risky substance use or substance use disorders; 4) develop and implement sustainable strategies to ensure the successful continuation of the project after the funding period ends and to disseminate SBIRT training to other local and regional health systems. A Council of Directors, members of school curriculum committees and administration, clinical practice site providers, and student representatives, will steer policy and procedures, monitor progress, review reports, and develop sustainability plans. Face-to-face trainings and an online course will be hosted to disseminate SBIRT practices. A UMKC-SBIRT website will be developed to serve as an internet-based information and resource clearinghouse, with continuously updated and culturally and linguistically appropriate content. The UMKC-SBIRT program will be disseminated to other residency and partnering sites, locally and regionally.

The purpose of "SBIRT Training: The Power of Nursing to Change Health" is to educate and train nursing students in the use of SBIRT as a lifelong professional practice. The key strategy is to incorporate new evidence-based approaches with proven clinical outcomes into the academic experience of nursing students. The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) College of Nursing has developed a unique partnership with the Western Massachusetts Public Health Training Center, the Center for Health Promotion, University Health Services, and the Springfield Public Schools to train nursing undergraduates in SBIRT for use in their clinical rotations. Goals of the project are to 1) develop and implement SBIRT training opportunities for nursing students at UMass; 2) improve the skills and competencies of nursing students in the use of SBIRT and 3) disseminate best practices for integrating SBIRT into nursing education for clinical practice. SBIRT curriculum will be integrated into existing psychiatric/mental health, pediatric/young adult and community nursing courses that incorporate alcohol and substance abuse disorders. Skills will continue to be used in students' Community and Medical/Surgical rotations. The target goal is to train at least 450- 500 students over the lifetime of the project. Project dissemination will occur through presentations at the annual meeting of the National Association of School Nurses, Massachusetts Association of Registered Nurses, Massachusetts School Nurse Organization, and American College Health Association. The project will be sustained by incorporating SBIRT training modules into the formal nursing curriculum, manualizing the training, and maintaining collaborative partnerships with clinical placement sites where SBIRT will be practiced. Process and outcome data will inform program implementation and be responsive to GPRA. Findings will be shared regionally and nationally through reporting and conference presentations.

The SBIRT@LUC project will train students, faculty and field educators within the Loyola University Chicago (LUC) School of Social Work, Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing and Stritch School of Medicine in screening, brief intervention, referral and treatment (SBIRT) methods. The SBIRT@LUC project will revise and expand LUC's curricula on substance abuse as well as capitalize on existing relationships among the three schools, the expertise of the Institute for Transformative Interprofessional Education, NORC at The University of Chicago and connections between the university and community-based health and mental health care partners to provide interdisciplinary training to students, faculty, and community medical and behavioral health professionals and staff. Annually, SBIRT@LUC will train 1,100 students, 12 faculty and 8 field educators to address the problem of substance use and abuse among racial/ethnic, sexual and gender minority populations. Over a three year period, up to 200 community health professionals and staff from affiliated agency practice sites will be trained in similar content to expand the SBIRT model across the region. The project goals are to: 1) train approximately 3,560 students, faculty, and community health professionals; 2) provide consultation and increase collaboration among community, regional and state partners for the purpose of training students and service providers on SBIRT protocols in accordance with National CLAS Standards; and 3) document and disseminate the SBIRT@LUC program model through its website, conference presentations and technical assistance activities. SBIRT@LUC will infuse existing curriculum with SBIRT-related content. An annual cohort of 30 students will comprise an interprofessional group of SBIRT Ambassadors that will receive field training along with supervision and direct practice with clients, health professionals and staff from partnering agencies to expand capacity for SBIRT within their organizations.

The Collaboration - Social Work, Psychology, and Nursing (C-SPAN) project will create a partnership within Adelphi University's School of Social Work, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, and College of Nursing and Public Health. C-SPAN will create a sustainable education and training program dedicated to the development of a multidisciplinary health care workforce capable of providing evidence-based screening and brief intervention and referrals to treatment (SBIRT) for clients at risk for substance use disorders. The University will draw on current capacities and build upon existing partnerships with local and regional service systems to: 1) create a skilled SBIRT-trained workforce of health professionals; 2) support students' implementation of SBIRT in clinical practice placements; 3) ensure sustainability and long-term implementation of SBIRT training in coursework and in the community; and 4) assess long-term utilization of SBIRT by students and impact on knowledge, attitudes, and skills. SBIRT training protocols will be modified to meet the specific academic and practical needs of each discipline targeted through C-SPAN, as well as reflect patient populations frequently served by students, all while retaining core SBIRT components and ensuring the integration of training protocol into current educational programs. Standalone training will be identified and adapted for delivery to a range of health providers. Over three years, C-SPAN will train 315 social work students, 150 psychology students, 125 nursing students, and 600 community health and mental health providers. SBIRT will be permanently embedded within the standard curriculum and offered regularly as a stand-alone continuing education event. Through student practicum settings, C-SPAN will have a significant and far-reaching impact on the adoption and practice of SBIRT throughout a range of health care delivery systems on Long Island and in New York City.

The University of New Mexico Rural Urban Health Professions Student Training (UNM-RUHPS) initiative will implement training programs for students in health professions with a focus on psychiatry, nursing, social work and psychology in rural and urban areas to develop the skills necessary to provide evidence-based screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for those at risk for substance use disorders (SUDs). The UNM-RUHPS initiative is led by the UNM Department of Psychiatry, Division of Community Behavioral Health (CBH) in partnership with community colleges and universities. This partnership will ensure that a broad spectrum of students are trained in SBIRT, which will support and sustain the spread and integration of SBIRT across New Mexico's most high need areas. CBH is suited to lead this initiative due to its widely recognized expertise and history of partnering with rural communities and institutions as well as building capacity to provide effective and culturally appropriate behavioral health training and services. CBH has a longstanding partnership with the state Behavioral Health Services Division, including current SAMHSA-funded NMSBIRT statewide implementation grant, to ensure the integration of UNM-RUHPS with state strategic planning and policy decisions. UNM-RUHPS will achieve the following goals: (1) improve workforce to conduct evidence-based SBIRT to appropriate treatment for persons at risk for SUDs; (2) increase adoption and practice of SBIRT throughout the healthcare delivery system; (3) develop leadership skills across a broad spectrum of key healthcare providers serving rural and urban populations; (4) ensure access to culturally appropriate and effective behavioral health treatment and prevention products; and (5) ensure sustainability of the SBIRT model. It is anticipated that over 400 learners across NM will receive SBIRT training and skills development through this grant annually.