TY - JOUR
T1 - Implementing Outside the Box
T2 - Community-Based Social Service Provider Experiences With Using an Alcohol Screening and Intervention
AU - Patterson Silver Wolf (Adelv unegv Waya), David A.
AU - Ramsey, Alex T.
AU - van den Berk-Clark, Carissa
N1 - Funding Information:
The research and manuscript preparation were supported in part by a National Institute of Mental Health T32 Training Grant (T32MH019960), a National Institutes of Health-National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism grant (7K23AA017684-04), and a National Institute on Drug Abuse T32 Training Grant (T32DA007313).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2015/3/15
Y1 - 2015/3/15
N2 - The aim of this study is to better understand perceptions of frontline social service workers who are not addiction specialists but have to address addiction-related issues during their standard services. Six social service organizations implemented a validated alcohol assessment and brief education intervention. After a 3-month trial implementation period, a convenience sample of 64 frontline providers participated in 6 focus groups to examine barriers and facilitators to the implementation of an alcohol screening and brief intervention. Three themes emerged: a) usefulness of the intervention, b) intervention being an appropriate fit with the agency and client population, and c) worker commitment and proper utilization during the implementation process. A cross-cutting theme that emerged was the context in which the intervention was implemented, as this was central to each of the 3 primary themes identified from the focus groups (i.e., the usefulness and appropriateness of the intervention and the implementation process overall). Practitioner buy-in concerns also indicate the need for better addiction service training opportunities for those without addiction-specific educational backgrounds. Future research should assess whether targeted trainings increase addiction screening and education in social services settings.
AB - The aim of this study is to better understand perceptions of frontline social service workers who are not addiction specialists but have to address addiction-related issues during their standard services. Six social service organizations implemented a validated alcohol assessment and brief education intervention. After a 3-month trial implementation period, a convenience sample of 64 frontline providers participated in 6 focus groups to examine barriers and facilitators to the implementation of an alcohol screening and brief intervention. Three themes emerged: a) usefulness of the intervention, b) intervention being an appropriate fit with the agency and client population, and c) worker commitment and proper utilization during the implementation process. A cross-cutting theme that emerged was the context in which the intervention was implemented, as this was central to each of the 3 primary themes identified from the focus groups (i.e., the usefulness and appropriateness of the intervention and the implementation process overall). Practitioner buy-in concerns also indicate the need for better addiction service training opportunities for those without addiction-specific educational backgrounds. Future research should assess whether targeted trainings increase addiction screening and education in social services settings.
KW - Implementation
KW - brief alcohol screening
KW - education
KW - social service worker opinions
KW - substance abuse
KW - substance education
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84924239167&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/01488376.2014.980963
DO - 10.1080/01488376.2014.980963
M3 - Article
C2 - 25798019
AN - SCOPUS:84924239167
VL - 41
SP - 233
EP - 245
JO - Journal of Social Service Research
JF - Journal of Social Service Research
SN - 0148-8376
IS - 2
ER -