Demonstrating BASICS: Creating Effective Multimedia Practitioner Training Tools

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The growing prevalence of heavy drinking and associated alcohol-related negative consequences among college students indicates a pressing need for evidence-based alcohol abuse prevention programs with adequate training aids to support their effective delivery and implementation. The Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) is notable for randomized controlled trials demonstrating its efficacy in reducing problematic drinking and alcohol-related harm among college students. While a BASICS manual, practitioner training workshop, and demonstration video have been developed to aid program dissemination; the training tools available to practitioners and institutions are not adequate for widespread clinical training in the BASICS model. Cascadia Addiction Research and Education, LLC (CARE) is committed to the dissemination of evidence-based practices in addiction prevention and treatment through educational services and technological innovation. CARE intends to develop two BASICS DVDs that will demonstrate motivational interviewing techniques with college students (DVD 1) and model both the assessment and feedback portions of the BASICS program with fidelity to the research supporting its efficacy (DVD 2). The goals for this Phase I SBIR Project are threefold: (1) to recruit practitioners (n=50) who have attended a BASICS Workshop to evaluate the current video and identify its clinical and technical strengths and limitations; (2) to develop two DVDs that demonstrate the essential clinical components of BASICS program delivery utilizing the unique technical features of digital video; and (3) to assess the feasibility, utility, and commercial potential of the two prototype BASICS DVDs among college student health professionals (n=40). The proposed research will address the urgent public health need for efficacious, individualized, and cost-effective prevention programs addressing alcohol abuse among college students. The development, evaluation, and distribution of the BASICS DVDs will encourage broader dissemination of this Best Practice program among colleges and universities as well as in health care centers serving the needs of college students.