Evaluation of the Washington State Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment (WASBIRT) Project

INTRODUCTION:

The Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA) received a grant award from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment that places Chemical Dependency Professionals (CDPs) in nine separate hospital emergency departments in six different counties.  The CDP's screen emergency department patients for substance abuse problems and provide brief intervention or referral to treatment. The evaluation component is designed to monitor the effectiveness of the project in producing measurable patient-level outcomes.  It is also designed to assess changes in the system of providing intervention for substance abuse problems. The evaluation is being undertaken by the Department of Social and Health Services Research and Data Analysis Division (RDA) in collaboration with DASA.

PURPOSE:

The evaluation of the WASBIRT Project is designed to monitor how many Emergency Department patients are screened for chemical dependency problems and how many receive brief interventions in the participating hospital emergency departments, how many receive brief treatment on an outpatient basis at certified treatment organizations, and how many receive more extensive forms of chemical dependency treatment.

In addition, the WASBIRT Project is using the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) survey instrument to conduct six-month follow-up interviews with a sample of patients to determine whether or not subsequent drug and alcohol use of patients who receive brief interventions or chemical dependency treatment is reduced. It is also tracking other client-level outcomes including subsequent levels of hospital use, medical costs, social services, drug or alcohol treatment, criminal behavior, employment, and death of patients who are served through WASBIRT. This information will come from existing administrative databases.

The WASBIRT evaluation is also examining the degree to which the project produces intended changes in service delivery systems to improve existing linkages to these services and to expand substance abuse services to include early intervention.

REPORTS:

RDA will produce a series of reports during the course of the project. These reports will be posted on the DASA website as soon as they are available.

Substance Use Levels:  Use of Alcohol or Other Drugs Reported by Patients Screened in Hospital Emergency Departments April 2004 – December 2005, January 26, 2006

Substance Use Outcomes:  Six-Month Follow-up Survey of WASBIRT Clients April 2004 – January 2005, January 3, 2006

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