Brief video intervention to teach firefighters the neurobiological basis of high risk alcohol use: A pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: Evidence-based information related to the neurobiological bases of alcohol use disorders has not been widely disseminated to individuals affected by alcohol use. The feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of the video, Alcohol and the Brain was assessed, guided by the three constructs of the transtheoretical model: processes of change, decisional balance, and self-efficacy. METHODS: This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of a brief video intervention and change in alcohol-related knowledge in a sample of urban firefighters (n = 11). The 20 min video was shown in a 45-min session of a Self-Management Wellness Program. A 10-item knowledge test was administered prior to and after the video and analyzed using a paired t-tests. RESULTS: This brief intervention was feasibly delivered with sufficient time for questions and answers in the firehouse. There was a high level of acceptability as reflected in the positive comments and the highly interactive discussion. There was a significant increase in knowledge from pre- to post-test (t = 7.7; p < 0.001). IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Complex neuroscience can be translated for patients in the form of a video that is feasible and acceptable with significant increase in knowledge. The efficacy of this brief video intervention on alcohol-related and treatment-related outcomes needs to be established.

Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) as an integral part of nursing practice.

ABSTRACT. Substance use screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) should be an integral part of the scope of nursing practice. This commentary is an appeal for nurses to advance their knowledge and competencies related to SBIRT. The question of how to move SBIRT into the mainstream of nursing practice was posed to several leaders of federal agencies, health care and nursing organizations, nurse educators, and nurse leaders. The authors provide recommendations for moving this set of clinical strategies (i.e., SBIRT) into day-to-day nursing practice.

Providing information about the neurobiology of alcohol use disorders to close the 'referral to treatment gap'.

Only a small proportion of the 18 million Americans who could benefit from alcohol treatment actually receive it. Disseminating information on the neurobiological base of alcohol disorders may be useful in removing the prevailing barriers to accepting a referral to alcohol treatment. Nurses, guided by a set of clinical strategies known as screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment, can be instrumental in closing this treatment gap.