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Online Program

320604
School-based health center providers' rankings of the impacts of substance use on adolescents and how implementing SBIRT can address them: Implications for marketing


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Brett Harris, DrPH, Department of Health Policy, Management and Behavior, University at Albany, School of Public Health, Rensselaer, NY
Benjamin Shaw, PhD, Department of Health Policy, Management and Behavior, University at Albany, School of Public Health, Rensselaer, NY
Hal Lawson, PhD, University at Albany, School of Social Welfare, Albany, NY
Barry R. Sherman, PhD, Department of Health Policy, Management and Behavior, University at Albany, School of Public Health, Rensselaer, NY
Background:  Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) has been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics as an evidence-based strategy addressing risky substance use among adolescents in primary care.  However, there is little awareness of SBIRT, and less than half of pediatricians even screen adolescents for substance use.

 Methods:  Between May and June 2013, an electronic survey was distributed to all 162 New York State school-based health center (SBHC) program directors and clinicians serving middle and high school students. Participants ranked two sets of statements based on their persuasiveness that SBIRT is needed and should be adopted in SBHCs.  One set contained statements about adolescent substance use and the seriousness of its effects; the other about how SBIRT may address substance use in SBHCs (40% response rate).

Results:  Association between substance use, risky behaviors, pregnancies, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) was perceived by program directors and clinicians as most persuasive that SBIRT is needed in SBHCs (M=7.52, SD=2.45).  Statements related to violence (M=5.90, SD=2.43) and poor school outcomes (M=5.86, SD=2.74) were also perceived as persuasive.  Regarding statements about how SBIRT can address adolescent substance use in SBHCs, organizational cost savings realized by early intervention was most persuasive (M=6.22, SD=2.41) followed by research highlighting SBIRT effectiveness at decreasing alcohol use (M=5.84, SD=2.48).    

Conclusion:  Findings from this study suggest SBIRT dissemination efforts and marketing strategies directed toward prospective adopters should highlight connections between substance use, risky behaviors, pregnancy, and STDs as well as research showing cost-effectiveness of SBIRT.

Learning Areas:

Communication and informatics
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
Name the consequences of adolescent substance use that school-based health center providers identified as most persuasive for adopting and implementing SBIRT List the characteristics of SBIRT that would encourage school-based health center providers to adopt and implement SBIRT Describe how to use the results of this study to market SBIRT to school-based health center and other pediatric providers

Keyword(s): School-Based Health, Adolescents

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I developed and currently lead an initiative on SBIRT in school-based health centers. I have conducted research, published papers, and presented results on provider factors impacting the adoption and implementation of SBIRT in school-based health centers. I co-lead a nationwide SBIRT for Youth Learning Community and serve on advisory committees for two adolescent SBIRT grants. I have also written and worked on multiple federally funded SBIRT grants.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2060.0: Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT): programs and opportunities