In light of the current opioid epidemic and increasing heroin and synthetic opioid problem plaguing our youth, many are asking, “What can we do about this growing problem?” One potential answer is the Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT), a comprehensive evidence-based public health approach to early intervention and treatment for people at risk of developing or currently experiencing a substance abuse disorder. SBIRT allows for substance abuse screening in any healthcare setting using free validated questionnaires. The vast majority of patients will not have an issue with alcohol, illicit drug use, or prescription medication misuse. However, when a problem is detected we can provide the appropriate intervention. Patients that are at moderate or high risk for abusing substances can be given brief interventions such as motivational interviewing (MI),
How to do user research when your user is a heroin addict
Where do we find some heroin addicts to speak to? This was the question that my team and I were faced with when building…