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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Karin Omark, EdM, Linda Peek, and Dennis Kelso, PhD. Altam Associates, Inc./CASBIRT Program, 9715 Carroll Centre Road, Suite 104, San Diego, CA 92126, 619-287-0948, k_omark@yahoo.com

Using peer health educators (PHEs) to provide behavioral healthcare at the “front end” of services has advantages over the traditional medical model of problem identification and specialist referrals. This presentation describes how PHEs eliminate barriers to health promotion in medical settings by providing evidence-based substance abuse screening and interventions as a standard component of primary and emergency medical care, rather than relying on medical staff to identify and refer patients or to conduct services themselves during busy medical visits. Alcohol and drug use impose tremendous costs on healthcare and society. Most costs are attributed to the large portion of the population that is not dependent but engages in occasional risky use. These nondependent users are not identified when seeking medical care and do not receive effective screening, brief intervention, referral and treatment (SBIRT) services that could improve their health and reduce societal problems and costs. The California SBIRT program has developed an innovative way to meet this need and serve more than 100,000 patients annually. PHEs conduct universal screening of patients for alcohol and drug use, provide risk-appropriate health education and interventions, and engage higher risk patients in treatment. Six months after SBIRT, 60% of at-risk drinkers and drug users reduce use to low risk levels. The front-end service delivery model reaches more patients than specialist-referral models, integrates behavioral and physical healthcare, and increases the health and cost reduction benefits of SBIRT services. The model has potential application to a wide range of behavioral risk factors and health promotion topics.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the benefits of providing behavioral healthcare/health education at the "front end" and as a routine part of medical services.
• Describe the peer health educator model of the California Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment (CASBIRT) program that integrates universal alcohol and drug abuse prevention and intervention services into medical care.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation