Friday, April 19, 2024
4/19/2024
The University of Detroit Mercy’s Specialized Substance Use Curriculum for Primary Health Professionals: An Inter-Professional Training Project prepares undergraduate and graduate level nurses and physician assistants to effectively screen, intervene and coordinate treatment of substance use disorders. The inter-professionally-focused training project will train two of the most critical sub-groups of primary health professionals (Physician Assistants and Nurses) in the process of screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) strategies; assessment of substance use disorders (SUD); and treatment principles and their application particularly with regard to alcohol, marijuana, stimulants, and opioids. In addition, the specialized substance use curriculum will provide comprehensive knowledge and skill development to ensure the development of competent primary health professionals to effectively address substance use through the use of evidence-based practices. The primary project goals include: 1. Prepare 300 Physician Assistants and Nurses to effectively assess and treat substance use disorders; 2. Continue to expand the number of PAs and Nurses to treat SUDs by fully integrating comprehensive substance use education into the mainstream curriculum; 3. Expand the state licensing and certification infrastructure to support expanded scopes of practice to treat SUDs 4. Increase the regional and state capacity to address SUDs by offering the substance use curriculum to community-based health professionals. 5. Generate knowledge about the effectiveness of substance use education for use in future efforts and funding decisions through rigorous evaluation of the curriculum and the training project, and by wide dissemination of the evaluation results. A team of faculty from the behavioral/addiction and primary health professions will work collaboratively in the development and delivery of the specialized substance use education curriculum. In addition, substance use and primary health professionals from the state system and practice community will provide additional input to the curriculum related to specific regional issues (e.g., greater emphasis on opioid addiction) to further strengthen the curriculum. The project will address a significant gap in the health professions curriculum, and will result in specialized substance use training integrated into the mainstream curricula of Physician Assistants and Nurses. As a result, project gains will be sustained so that future generations of primary health professionals will be trained to competently address substance use, thus, expanding the region’s capacity to do so. Because the University is located in a medically-underserved region, the resulting workforce expansion among critical primary health professionals will have a far greater impact on the region. The project is also uniquely aligned with SAMHSA’s plan to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities by targeting a region significantly impacted by such disparities in access to health care. As such, the project is designed to significantly reduce existing health care disparities in southeast Michigan.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
