Providing training in screening & brief intervention for trauma care providers: Lessons learned

Introduction: Alcohol and illicit drug abuse are major health care problems frequently associated with trauma care center admission. A significant number of trauma center providers, however, are not systematically trained to provide screening and brief intervention (SBI) services to their patients with substance use disorders. This lack of preparation is concerning because evidence indicates that untreated alcohol-related problems are associated with extended hospital stays, repeat emergency department use, and significantly higher mortality and morbidity rates. This paper outlines a project to deliver SBI training on-site at select trauma care centers, highlights on-line resources for individuals interested in providing SBI training to trauma care staff, and shares lessons learned from the implementation phase of the project. Program description: The target audience of this intervention includes nurses, social workers and medical providers working at accredited Level I and Level II trauma care centers. On-site training is provided at eight locations between February and September, 2007, including Seattle, Denver, Dallas, Chicago, Boston, San Diego, Washington, DC and Atlanta. The training program illustrates how to conduct brief interventions and surveys clinical markers of alcohol problems. Issues involved with overcoming barriers to implementing screening and brief intervention programs in trauma care settings will also be on the training agenda. Discussion: Lessons learned from the first year of implementation of this program will be provided at the conference. Challenges in developing the curriculum, training SBI, marketing the event to providers, and evaluating the impact of training will be summarized.