Denise Seigart, chair of the School of Nursing undergraduate nursing and master of nursing of populations programs, has received a grant of $10,000 to work with NORC at the University of Chicago to implement and evaluate the University’s Integrating Adolescent Substance Abuse Brief Screening Referral and Treatment (SBIRT) program as part of the School of Nursing’s existing curricula.
Seigart will be working with other faculty in the School of Nursing, School of Allied Health Sciences Department of Community and Environmental Health, and University Health Services.Through this grant, the School of Nursing will receive technical assistance to aid the implementation process of the SBIRT program and participate in evaluation.
SBIRT is a comprehensive, integrated, public health approach to the delivery of early intervention and treatment services for people with risky and dependent alcohol use, treatment and ongoing recovery supports. Screening quickly assesses for presence of risky substance abuse, follows positive screens with further assessment of problem use, and identifies the appropriate level of treatment. Brief intervention focuses on increasing insight and awareness regarding substance use and motivation toward behavioral change. Referral to treatment provides those identified as needing more extensive treatment with access to medications, primary care counseling or specialty care as needed by patient.
NORC at the University of Chicago is an independent research institution that delivers data and analysis to guide business and policy decisions. NORC has partnered with the Council on Social Work Education, the Center for Clinical Social Work, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and Kognito, an organization designed to improve health through virtual simulation, to engage schools of social work and nursing in a learning collaborative to develop and evaluate interactive, competency-based SBIRT education. The project is funded by a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.