Tailored intervention training for mental health and chemical dependency providers

Schnellman, Jan

Friday, August 17, 2012: 8:00 AM

2504A (Kansas City Convention Center)

Jan Schnellman, MEd , Training Services, Alere Wellbeing, Inc., Seattle, WA

Erin Matthews Thomas, MS, SpecHSA , Bureau of Cancer and Chronic Disease Tobacco Control Program, DC Department of Health, Community Health Administration, Washington, DC

Julie Rose, BA , Training Services, Alere Wellbeing, Inc., Seattle, WA

Jennifer Pech Cinnamon, BA , Training Services, Alere Wellbeing, Inc., Seattle, WA

Adam Davis, RN , Training Services, Alere Wellbeing, Inc., Seattle, WA

Susan M Zbikowski, PhD , Alere Wellbeing, Inc., Seattle, WA

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this presentation attendees will be able to:

Describe the tailored approach used for the District of Columbia Tobacco Control Program to train mental health and chemical dependency providers to ask, advise and refer their patients to the Quitline and other cessation resources.
Discuss the importance of developing and designing training based on the special needs of mental health and chemical dependency providers.
Recommend a sustainable provider training strategy to decrease the high prevalence of tobacco use among consumers of mental health and substance abuse services in your community.

Cross Cutting Program Area(s): Increasing Diversity/Eliminating Disparities

Audience: Individuals at all levels of experience

Key Points: Persons with mental illness use tobacco at rates almost twice as high as in the general population (41% vs. 22.5%) and have higher morbidity and mortality due to tobacco related illness. Providing cessation services to this population has not been a high priority. Designing brief tobacco intervention online training and supplemental programming may lead to sustainable systems change among providers, increase referrals to cessation resources, and increase the opportunity for mental health and chemical dependency patients to stop using tobacco. Online training and supplementary webinars tailored for mental health and chemical dependency providers for use in their treatment settings responds to the special circumstances and needs of this population to address tobacco use with their patients.

Educational Experience: The presentation will discuss the prevalence of tobacco use, special needs, and training solutions to overcome the particular barriers to addressing tobacco use with this patient population. A comprehensive approach; including needs assessment, design of objective-based training, and delivery of training via online training and supplementary topic-based webinars, implementation of system change protocols, and evaluation of the trainings will be discussed. Portions of the training product will be shown. Group activities may be planned and presenters will facilitate group discussion and a question and answer session.

Benefits: The presentation describes a sustainable provider training strategy to decrease the high prevalence of tobacco use among consumers of mental health and chemical dependency/substance abuse services that may be adapted by others.