Disseminating Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for Substance Use Harm Reduction in the Bronx: Evaluation Outcomes After One Year

SBIRT is an evidence-based practice rooted in motivational interviewing that reduces harmful substance use. Using a harm-reduction person-centered approach, and targeting at-risk substance users as well as those with substance use disorders, SAMHSA-supported SBIRT programs screened more than 1.5 million persons in the United States between 2003-2011. The 5- to 15-minute SBIRT brief intervention, used with identified “risky” substance users, resulted in a 40 percent reduction in harmful use of alcohol by those drinking at moderate- and high-risk levels and a 55 percent reduction in negative social consequences overall. Due to its ease of use and effectiveness across diverse practice settings and populations, SAMHSA has made the dissemination of SBIRT training and practice by allied health professionals a public health priority. This presentation will define SBIRT, describe its overall approach, and provide a brief overview of important evidence supporting its utility as an interprofessional public health tool. The importance of its adoption as routine practice for social workers will be emphasized. Focus will then turn to an SBIRT dissemination initiative centered in the Bronx, New York, which reached under-served areas throughout the New York Metropolitan area. Discussion will center on first year program evaluation outcomes derived from quantitative and focus group measures. Successes, challenges, lessons learned, and next steps will be identified.