Effect on Dental Hygiene Students of a Substance Use Simulation Conducted with Nursing Students

Abstract

Dental professionals have an opportunity to screen for substance use, provide targeted feedback based on patients' oral health, provide patient education, and refer for further assessment as needed. The aim of this study was to assess the impact on dental hygiene students of an interprofessional Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) educational intervention with standardized patients as a tool for initiating discussions on alcohol and drug use with patients. Starting in 2015, dental hygiene students in two classes at the University of Pittsburgh participated with nursing students in one and a half hours of didactic instruction followed within a ten-week period by SBIRT simulation scenarios utilizing standardized patients, with subsequent debriefing of students by faculty. Students' attitudes were assessed before and after the didactic session and immediately after the SBIRT simulation, using the Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perceptions Questionnaire and the Drug and Drug Problems Perceptions Questionnaire. All 67 dental hygiene students in the program at the time participated in the educational intervention and surveys. The results showed significant positive changes in role security, defined as the acceptance of SBIRT delivery as part of their role identity as dental hygienists, following the intervention. This study found that the IPE intervention with dental hygiene and nursing students improved the dental hygiene students' attitudes through using SBIRT.

The Status of SBIRT Training in Health Professions Education: A Cross-Discipline Review and Evaluation of SBIRT Curricula and Educational Research

“…Of the 1,856 articles identified in the initial search (after duplicate were removed), 95 met our inclusion criteria, 42–136 the earliest of which was published in 2007. 48 Figure 1 shows the flowchart of the literature search and Supplemental Digital Appendix 3 at http://links.lww.com/ACADMED/B249 provides a summary of each of the included articles.…”

Interprofessional education as a potential foundation for future team-based prevention of alcohol use disorder

“…Two limitations of the current study are the absence of validated assessments and the relatively small sizes of certain student populations that may have precluded the discovery of effects in specific professions. For example, using the Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perception Questionnaire, Mitchell and colleagues [ 27 ] described significant improvements in role security following an SBIRT-based IPE training exercise in a larger cohort of dental hygiene students (n = 67). Our single-site study would have also been improved by the inclusion of students from different institutions to enhance generalizability and better understand inter-institutional factors [ 41 ].…”

“…Mitchell and colleagues [ 27 ] found an improvement in student attitudes toward working with patients who have alcohol problems after an IPE experience. The IPE experience included dental hygiene and nursing students.…”

Managing Acute Pain and Opioid Risks Following Wisdom Teeth Extraction: An Illustrative Case

“…28 Interprofessional and profession-specific journals have disseminated studies on interprofessional curricular offerings and continuing education efforts related to opioids. [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] Although some specialized organizations provide guidance for interprofessional opioid curricula 37 or engage students in creating interprofessional team presentations, 38 interprofessional opioid initiatives within and beyond individual institutions are not well documented. The relative scarcity of interprofessional approaches to opioid education is reflective of the current state of interprofessional education more generally, where health professional students for the most part continue to learn in silos.…”