The TEAMS-UP project will use a transdisciplinary approach to encourage interprofessional groups of students to share skills in applying SBIRT in the clinic.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has estimated that 23.1 million Americans 12 and older needed treatment for substance use in 2012, and by 2020, mental and substance use disorders will surpass all physical diseases as a major cause of disability.
SAMHSA is working to expand the use of SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment), an evidence-based practice that focuses on early intervention and treatment for people at risk for developing or who are already diagnosed with substance use disorders.
As part of SAMHSA’s efforts to increase the use of SBIRT throughout the United States’ health care system, SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment has awarded George Mason a three-year, $920,000 SBIRT Health Professions Student Training grant.
Mason’s project, Training to Engage, Assess, and Motivate for Substance Use Prevention (TEAMS-UP), revolves around two components: curriculum and training. The project will integrate the SBIRT process into undergraduate and graduate coursework, and students in clinical courses will put SBIRT into practice, using a transdisciplinary approach, in their rotation through the Mason and Partners (MAP) clinics.
“Our transdisciplinary approach encourages interprofessional groups of students to move beyond the boundaries of their own disciplines, sharing roles and skills in SBIRT application and problem solving, and moving toward becoming professionals with broader, or transdisciplinary perspectives on substance abuse screening, intervention, referral, and treatment. SBIRT trainees will be transformed into professionals with broader insights and perspectives beyond their individual disciplines, preparing them to be more likely to view their professional work from an interdisciplinary perspective,” said Lora Peppard, project investigator on the grant, assistant professor of nursing, and director of behavioral health services for the MAP clinics. “Our students’ work in the MAP clinics allows us to increase access to behavioral health services for underserved populations, while educating students on how to use SBIRT.”
The training element of the TEAMS-UP project goes beyond students and faculty to include the community as well, with a TEAMS-UP faculty training team offering targeted, on-site training in high impact areas, and annual training for community organizations.
“The ultimate goal is to train SBIRT champions at the student, faculty, and community levels to carry forward and disseminate utilization of the SBIRT process in the management of substance use. We are training the current and future workforce in the SBIRT method, which enhances our ability to provide evidence-based, personalized care for these individuals,” Peppard said.
Peppard estimates that more than 1,000 students in social work, nursing, and psychology will be trained on SBIRT during the duration of the grant. In addition, more than 40 faculty members will be impacted by the curriculum change, and the goal is to train a minimum of 200 to 300 community organization representatives.
“Integration of the SBIRT process into our curriculums, combined with the training opportunities we will provide and the interprofessional education components, will truly make a difference for patients, students, faculty, and the community as a whole. Be on the lookout for our first annual training to be held this fall, which will introduce our university and the community to SBIRT,” Peppard said.