Educating treatment professionals about addiction science research: demographics of knowledge and belief changes.

Communication of accurate, objective, and timely scientific information to treatment professionals is important--especially in the "drug abuse" and addiction field where misinformation and a lack of exposure to new information are common. The purpose of this study was to assess knowledge and belief changes that accompanied educational workshops (3 or 6 hr-long) on addiction science targeted to treatment professionals (N=1403) given in the United States and Puerto Rico between July 2000 and August 2001. Each workshop covered three main concepts: (1) terms and definitions; (2) basic neurochemistry of addiction; and (3) how new neurobiological knowledge will affect the treatment of addictions in the future. Analysis of variance was used to compare mean pretest to posttest change scores among levels of four independent variables: gender, age, occupation/position, and race/ethnicity. Workshop participants achieved a significant improvement in knowledge about addiction with younger groups achieving greater gains. Participants' beliefs shifted in the desired direction. Significant differences in belief shifts occurred among occupational and gender groups, but not among race/ethnicity or age groups. There was also a consistent change in the policy belief subscale that related to how strongly the audience members believed research on addiction was important. We conclude that addiction science education provided to treatment professionals can increase their knowledge and change their beliefs about the causes of addictions. In addition, the workshop participants form a base of constituents who are likely to support greater addiction research funding.

Effectiveness of addiction science presentations to treatment professionals, using a modified Solomon study design.

OBJECTIVES: Knowledge of addiction research findings is critical for healthcare professionals who treat addicted patients. However, there is little information available about the instructional effectiveness of lecture-slide presentations in changing knowledge vs. beliefs of such professionals. DESIGN: A modified Solomon four-group experimental design was used to assess the instructional effectiveness (knowledge gain vs. belief changes) of three-hour addiction science workshops presented to health-care professionals by neurobiologically-trained academic researchers. Effectiveness of the workshops was assessed by a 28-item questionnaire on participant versus control group knowledge/beliefs on addiction. Six-month follow-up questionnaires measured "retention" of knowledge and belief changes. RESULTS: The workshop participants showed significant knowledge gain and belief changes, whereas the two control groups showed no change in knowledge or beliefs. After six months, knowledge gains decreased, but were still higher than pre-test scores. In contrast, belief changes on three subscales persisted over six months in 40 to 52 percent of the subjects. CONCLUSIONS: These results illustrate a successful continuing education model by which academic researchers who are skilled teachers present a three-hour lecture-slide workshop with extensive question-and-answer sessions on addictions. We conclude that motivated health-care professionals can experience important knowledge gains and belief changes by participating in such workshops. In contrast to the transient retention of knowledge, belief changes persisted surprisingly well for at least six months in about half the subjects. These results suggest that long-term changes in the professional orientation of these health-care workers are possible.