Addressing Alcohol Misuse Among Service Members:  The SBIRT Model - 

  2012_Jan_26_Addressing_Alcohol_Misuse_Among_Service_Members_-_SBIRT_Model.pdf (900.3 KiB, 14 hits)

Resources for DCOE’s January 2012 Webinar - 

  Resources_for_DCoEs_January_2012_Webinar.pdf (135.0 KiB, 4 hits)

Jan. 26, 2012, 1-2:30 p.m. (EST)

Heavy alcohol use is steadily rising among service members and veterans. For example, according to findings in the 2008 “Department of Defense Survey of Health Related Behaviors Among Military Personnel”, rates of heavy alcohol use among service members increased from 15 percent in 1998 to 20 percent in 2008.

Although alcohol treatment services are available in the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), many service members are reluctant to seek care because of stigma and possible career consequences. Secondary prevention methods (i.e., screening and brief interventions) in non-specialty settings (i.e., behavioral health care) may engage service members at an early stage of risky or hazardous drinking who otherwise would remain undetected and untreated.

Are you aware of SBIRT?
The screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment model (known as SBIRT) is a system-level approach to identify and treat persons with drinking problems. Research has demonstrated that SBIRT is effective in identifying persons at risk of developing serious alcohol problems, reducing the frequency or severity of alcohol use and increasing the percentage of patients who enter specialized alcohol treatment. The SBIRT model is consistent with the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Substance Use Disorders and will aid health care providers in integrating a step-by-step process for clinical decision making. 

Register for the webinar

Visit http://es.adobeconnect.com/e8gvznpadmf/event/registration.html to register for the webinar featuring presenters from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the VA who will discuss how SBIRT is being implemented in health care settings.  Continuing education units and continuing medical education credits are now available from Saint Louis University. For credits information visit http://www.dcoe.health.mil/Content/Navigation/Documents/DCoE%20Accreditation%20CEU.pdf

VA Employee Education System Free Continuing Education

PTSD and Substance Abuse

Helping Patients who Drink Too Much, online course developed by the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse

Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America’s Prison Population is a new report from CASA showing that 1.5 million of the 2.3 million people in the nation’s prisons and jails meet the medical criteria for substance abuse or addiction and that only 11 percent receive any treatment during incarceration. According to the report, if all inmates who needed treatment and aftercare services received these services, the nation would break even in a year if just over 10 percent remained substance and crime free and employed.

To view the entire report, click here.

Increasing the Effectiveness of PTSD Treatment, a web-based educational resource developed by the National Center for PTSD: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/ptsd101/course-modules/Increasing-Effectiveness-of-PTSD-Treatments.asp

Helping Students who Drink Too Much, online course developed by the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse: http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/Publications/EducationTrainingMaterials/CME_CE.htm

Substance Use Disorders in Military Veterans: 

  Deployment and Mental Health Service Use Among U.S. Army Spouses (52.9 KiB, 85 hits)