Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #114107

Scott T. Walters, PhD¹, Sarah A. Matson, BA¹, John S. Baer, PhD², and Douglas M. Ziedonis, MD, MPH³. (1) School of Public Health, University of Texas, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd V8.112, Dallas, TX 75390-9128, (214) 648-1519, scott.walters@utsouthwestern.edu, (2) Department of Psychology, University of Washington, UW Box 354805, 1107 NE 45th St., Suite 120, Seattle, WA 98105-4631, (3) Division of Addiction Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School - UMDNJ, UBHC – D349, 671 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854

"Continuing Education" (CE) constitutes a primary means of disseminating new treatment approaches to those already working in the field. CE can take many forms, including readings, stand-alone lectures, internet-based courses, and training workshops. Comprehensive therapeutic methods are often taught in discrete 1-3 day training workshops. Although frequently used, these workshops have not traditionally been the focus of empirical investigations. Based on an electronic literature review, this review considers 21 published evaluations of training workshops for substance use providers, not conducted as part of a clinical efficacy trial. The studies describe a range of training techniques designed to disseminate various intervention strategies. Most share common evaluation methods such as written tests of knowledge and attitudes, rated interactions with real and standardized patients, and (less frequently) reports of patient outcome. The results reveal that training tends to improve knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in working with clients who have substance abuse problems. In general, participants enjoy the trainings and believe they have gained necessary skills. When measured, improvements in clinical skills are usually seen at an immediate post-training evaluation, but are less often maintained over a longer period. Extended contact, through follow-up consultation, supervision, or feedback, appears to be necessary for the long-term adoption of new skills. Given the existing gap between research and practice, CE needs to be a focus of developmental and evaluative research to better disseminate empirically-validated addiction treatments.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe common methods of dissemination employed by Continuing Education programs.
• Identify components that are most successful in affecting long-term adoption of clinical skills.
• Discuss future research ideas to improve our ability to disseminate empirically-validated addiction treatments.

Keywords: Substance Abuse,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.