Does the Length of Time to Complete an Online Program Matter?

Health care providers are challenged to meet the simultaneous demands of delivering clinical care and acquiring new information, especially in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the opioid epidemic, and concurrent escalation in alcohol and other drug use. To address the gap in knowledge related to substance use, screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT), a self-paced online educational program, was developed and delivered to 169 learners. Posttest knowledge scores increased for all learners and did not differ based on their pace of completion. Results indicated that this module provides a means for busy clinicians to increase their ability to manage substance use, even if their learning occurs in multiple sessions interrupted by other pressing demands. Future iterations of this course could further enhance clinical competency by addition of an online clinical simulation component. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52(11):505-510.].

Educating Ambulatory Care Nurses to Address Substance Use.

BACKGROUND: Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for substance use has an impact on morbidity and mortality and health care cost. LOCAL PROBLEM: Nurses in ambulatory care settings may lack knowledge about evidence-based substance use SBIRT. METHODS: A comparison of pre- and postintervention data was performed to determine whether knowledge improved and to identify facilitators and barriers to SBIRT implementation. INTERVENTIONS: Nurses completed an online self-paced program focusing on alcohol and drug use screening, motivational interviewing used in a brief intervention, and referral to specialty treatment. RESULTS: Postintervention knowledge scores increased (P < .001). Facilitator and barrier themes included time, education, resources, receptivity, and interprofessional collaboration. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of the SBIRT online program was feasible for nurses to complete during work hours and resulted in increased SBIRT-related knowledge.

Nurse-Led Delivery of Brief Interventions for At-Risk Alcohol Use: An Integrative Review.

BACKGROUND: Nurses are in key positions to reduce the global burden associated with alcohol, yet many are ill-prepared to screen for alcohol use and intervene accordingly. The purpose of this integrative review was to identify best practices for educating nurses to work with patients who are at risk for alcohol-related adverse consequences, implement alcohol screening, and deliver alcohol brief interventions (ABIs). AIMS: To identify and synthesize findings from randomized control trials of ABIs delivered by nurses to patients identified through screening to be at risk because of alcohol use. METHOD: The results of 11 published randomized control trials identified from a multi-database search were synthesized. RESULTS: The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test was used for alcohol screening in more than half of the studies. Most of the ABIs were based on motivational interviewing and delivered in 30 minutes or less. While there was limited information on the characteristics of nurses who delivered the interventions and how nurses were prepared to deliver the ABIs, the exemplar was a full day workshop teaching nurses on an evidence-based framework for the ABI. All studies measured alcohol consumption as an outcome, yet few used rigorous methods for obtaining this self-reported data. CONCLUSIONS: A 1-day workshop is recommended as an educational modality to prepare nurses to implement the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test for identification of persons who are at risk because of alcohol use, deliver a structured brief intervention in less than 30 minutes, and utilize a standard measure of alcohol consumption for evaluation.