Student Nurse Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment Training Program: Analysis 2016-2019.

BACKGROUND: Screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) is an evidence-based set of skills and strategies used by health care providers. Data have suggested SBIRT should be used in detecting persons at risk for substance use and be included in every primary care encounter, as many needing substance abuse treatment do not receive it. METHODS: This descriptive study evaluated data for 361 undergraduate student nurses who participated in SBIRT training. Pretraining and 3-month posttraining surveys were used to evaluate changes in trainees' knowledge, attitudes, and skills toward people with substance use disorder. A satisfaction survey immediately after the training measured satisfaction with and usefulness of the training. RESULTS: Eighty-nine percent of students self-reported that the training increased their knowledge and skills related to screening and brief intervention. Ninety-three percent reported that they intended to use these skills in the future. Pre-post measures indicated statistically significant increases in knowledge, confidence, and perceived competence on all measures. CONCLUSIONS: Both formative and summative evaluation assisted in improving trainings each semester. These data confirm the need to integrate SBIRT content across the undergraduate nursing curriculum and include faculty and preceptors to improve rates of screening in clinical practice.

Effectiveness of an Electronic Booster Session Delivered to Mandated Students.

College student drinking continues to be a problem in the United States. Students who have violated campus alcohol policy are at particularly high risk for dangerous drinking. While Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) has been found to be an effective strategy in reducing high-risk drinking and associated consequences, questions remain about ways to further reduce risk or sustain changes associated with a face-to face intervention. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a computer-delivered personalized feedback (electronic booster) delivered to policy violators who completed a mandated BASICS program. At 3-month post-intervention, 346 participants (60.4% male and 39.6% female) were randomized to one of two conditions: assessment only (n = 171) or electronic booster feedback (n = 175). Follow-up assessments were given to all participants at 3, 6, and 12-month post-initial intervention. Both groups showed reductions in drinking after the in-person BASICS intervention, but no additional reductions were seen with the addition of an electronic booster session. Findings suggest that although brief motivational interventions delivered in person to mandated students have been shown to be effective with mandated students, there is no additional benefit from an electronic booster session delivered 3-month post-intervention for this population.