Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment for Older Adults With Substance Misuse

Abstract

Objectives. We compared substance use and SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) services received for older adults screened by the Florida BRITE (BRief Intervention and Treatment of Elders) Project, across 4 categories of service providers. Methods. Staff from 29 agencies screened for substance use risk in 75 sites across 18 Florida counties. Clients at no or low risk received feedback about screening; moderate risk led to brief intervention, moderate or high risk led to brief treatment, and highest severity led to referral to treatment. Six-month follow-ups were conducted with a random sample of clients. Results. Over 5 years (September 15, 2006-September 14, 2011), 85 001 client screenings were recorded. Of these, 8165 clients were at moderate or high risk. Most received brief intervention for alcohol or medication misuse. Differences were observed across 4 categories of agencies. Health educators screening solely within medical sites recorded fewer positive screens than those from mental health, substance abuse, or aging services that screened in a variety of community-based and health care sites. Six-month follow-ups revealed a significant decrease in substance use. Conclusions. The Florida BRITE Project demonstrated that SBIRT can be extended to nonmedical services that serve older adults.

Profile of Consumption of Psychoactive Substances and Its Relationship to Sociodemographic Characteristics: A Contribution to a Brief Intervention in Primary Health Care, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

“…In this sense, national 2,11,14,16 and international 20,[22][23] authors have pointed out the efficacy of this model of brief intervention performed by professionals working in primary health care. Therefore, the present study emphasizes the importance of the qualification of the health professionals that develop their activities in primary health care in the FHS in order to provide a better service to people with problems related to alcohol and other drugs welcomed at the health system gateway.…”

Drinking behavior among older adults in a planned retirement community: results from The Villages survey

“…Results suggest that hazardous use of alcohol (15.4%) is higher among respondents from The Villages than in studies of community‐dwelling elders (about 9%) (Merrick et al , ; Schonfeld et al , ), but slightly less than reported in one other study of retirement communities (Alexander and Duff, ). The negative correlation between alcohol consumption and depressive symptoms also suggests that higher levels of consumption are driven by something else.…”

Six-Month Utilization of Psychotherapy by Older Adults with Depressive Symptoms

“…Future intervention and policy research is needed to determine whether various changes (e.g., professionals’ training, reimbursement policies, delivery methods such as telehealth and integration into medical and social service settings) will actually improve access. It is likely that the engagement of multiple stakeholders, including state policymakers, will be key to improving psychotherapy access for depression—as it was for improving behavioral intervention access for older adults with substance misuse (Schonfeld et al in press, 2010; Schonfeld and Hedgecock 2008). Policymakers in state legislature and state agencies (such as state units on aging, mental health, and substance abuse) could work together to develop protocols and pool resources for training, implementation, and evaluation at multiple provider agencies.…”

“…Participants were recruited from outreach and screening efforts in six counties of Florida by partnering with the Florida BRITE Project (Schonfeld et al in press, 2010). BRITE is a statewide program of community outreach, screening, and brief interventions.…”