Key DFM Personnel

Richard L. Brown, MD, MPH, Clinical Director
Harold Gates, MSSW, CISW, Director of Cultural Competence
D. Paul Moberg, Ph.D., Associate Director for Evaluation
Lilly Irvin-Vitela, MCRP, Project Manager
Laura A. Saunders, MSSW, Health Education Manager
Holly Prince, MA, Treatment Manager
Robin M. Lecoanet, JD, Evaluation Manager

Funding

U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), administered by the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services.

Abstract

Background: The Wisconsin Initiative to Promote Healthy Lifestyles (WIPHL) provides evidence-based Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral, and Treatment (SBIRT) services for unhealthy drinking and drug use in primary health care settings across the state, as envisioned in the state health plan, Healthiest Wisconsin 2010. This service grant has its origins in research conducted by Dr. Richard Brown and others in the DFM. The project emphasizes development and ongoing improvement of durable systems that provide evidence-based, culturally competent services in a standardized manner. Over five years WIPHL will enhance delivery of SBIRT services for adults and adolescents, initially at 20 clinics affiliated with five umbrella organizations, then in additional sites of those organizations, and then throughout Wisconsin.

Method: Clinic staff systematically administers brief, multi-health behavior screens. Patients with positive brief alcohol and drug use screens undergo further screening and receive additional SBIRT services from on-site health educators who are trained and supported by WIPHL. Counseling protocols are based on the trans-theoretical model of change, motivational interviewing principles, and additional strategies to enhance cultural competence. A computer tablet prompts health educators to deliver algorithmically driven counseling services and record patient responses. A central database will receive daily downloads from health educators' tablets and provide monthly feedback for plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles on quality improvement goals. A liaison links patients with further treatment if necessary.

More information at: www.wiphl.org