A new study published in JAMA Network (2025) examined the current practices surrounding substance use disorder screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) among youth-serving clinicians in the US.
The study found 57% of youth serving clinicians from multiple primary care specialties reported that they routinely screen adolescents for substance use disorders at every well visit. Only 39% reported using a screening tool at every well visit.
Multiple barriers exist to extend screening and brief intervention to all youth populations in clinical and non-clinical (i.e., school, community) settings.
Most notably barriers include the time required for training and implementation, as well as the need to address a myriad of other important health behaviors facing youth and young adults.
One solution is to use brief multiple health behavior interventions such as those offered by Prevention Plus Wellness (PPW).
PPW provides the single-session evidence-based SPORT PPW program for youths and the InShape PPW program for young adults.
Both brief preventive interventions provide the following advantages to typical SBIRT practices:
1. Scripted protocols significantly reduce training requirements and improve implementation ease and fidelity.
2. Implementation can be done either individually or in groups as well as virtually live or on demand, making them more flexible and practical regardless of setting.
3. They provide substance use prevention messaging while promoting critical healthy lifestyle behaviors lacking among most US youth, thereby permitting a more holistic and cost-effective strategy.
4. Protocols for one-on-one implementation include an optional validated screener (i.e., CRAFFT) to assess substance use risk level in addition to providing a prevention intervention for all youth/young adults.
In conclusion, implementing SBIRT to youth and young adult populations has been hampered due to several barriers.
These barriers can be overcome at least in part by implementing brief integrated multiple behavior prevention interventions, such as those offered by Prevention Plus Wellness.
These interventions can quickly and easily implemented in clinical and non-clinical settings for improving the mental and physical wellbeing of all young people.
Read the full study report: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2834257
Learn more about Prevention Plus Wellness: https://preventionpluswellness.com