Impact of Brief Intervention Workshops on Addiction Provider Knowledge, Skills, Negative Attitudes, and Interest in Implementing Evidence-Based Practices

Abstract

This study evaluated the impact of Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) workshops on posttraining knowledge, skills, negative attitudes, and interest in implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs). Participants ( N = 70) were primarily mental health counselor (41.4%), social workers (20.0%), substance abuse counselors (15.7%), school counselors (5.7%), and nursing professionals (4.3%) who selected the 1- or 2-day workshop for continuing education credit. Participants attended either a Basic MI training workshop (1 day) or a Basic MI training plus an advanced MI/SBIRT training workshop (2 days) to assess if exposure to two EBPs would improve training outcomes. Participants in both the 1-day and 2-day workshops reported posttraining increased perceived knowledge and skills, decreased negative attitudes toward EBPs, and increased interest in implementing EBPs from pretraining to posttraining. There were no differences between participants in the Basic MI or MI plus advanced MI/SBIRT training conditions. Implications for reducing the research-practice gap in EBPs are discussed.

An evaluation of the Just Five program, a flexible digital approach to adult substance use education

“…Many programs have been focused on youth prevention, with brief educational interventions around substance use showing positive impacts among adolescents [11]. A larger body of literature focused on adults has shown promise in the use of brief interventions for substance use treatment, and to increase knowledge of SUD among counselors and clinicians [12][13][14]. Research has also shown success in embedding adult education programs into workplaces, with limited evidence to suggest promise in promoting drug education specifically [15][16][17][18].…”