Developing informational materials and training resources for physicians: Implications from NIDA's Primary Care Physician Outreach Project

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) primary care physician outreach project is intended to: 1) increase physician's awareness of NIDA, NIDA-funded research, and the medical consequences of drug abuse and addiction; and 2) provide physicians with the information and resources needed to incorporate research findings into clinical practice. NIDA is conducting an ongoing formative assessment to inform the content and format of the outreach activities. Preliminary quantitative data were collected from a survey of 60 pediatricians and preliminary qualitative data were collected through focus groups with 13 physicians representing three specialties (pediatrics, family medicine, internal medicine). Secondary analysis was based on a dataset from a NIDA survey of 239 physicians. Based on analysis of these three data sources, core physician knowledge and competencies were identified as: 1) competency in screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment; 2) knowledge of co-occurring medical and psychiatric disorders; 3) competency in prescribing and monitoring drugs with abuse potential; and 4) other specialty or population-specific competencies. A number of strategies to help physicians acquire core knowledge and competencies were also identified, including: 1) improve formal education and training, 2) change attitudes by increasing self-efficacy, and 3) use skills-based role-playing, feedback, and performance monitoring. Physicians indicated that several preferred methods for obtaining information about drug abuse and addiction, including: 1) specialty newsletters, 2) direct mailings and email, 3) online sources/websites, 4) workshops/live speakers, and 4) CDs, tapes, and videos. The implications of these results on the development of informational material and training resources are discussed.