Alcohol or Other Drugs and Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment

Call for Papers

It has been documented that 24%-31% of all patients treated and as many as 50% of severely injured trauma patients in emergency departments test positive for alcohol use (D’Onofrio snd Degutis, 2002). In 2008, 23.1 million persons aged 12 or older needed treatment for an alcohol or other drug- (AOD-) related problem, but only 2.3 million received specialty treatment (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 2009). A significant opportunity exists for nurses to play a part in identifying, addressing, and reducing the risks of AOD use when it results in a healthcare visit. Nurses and other healthcare professionals can help to lower the risks for this at-risk population by screening to identify and intervening to address or refer (as necessary) for substance use in nonspecialized healthcare settings.

We invite investigators to contribute review articles as well as original research articles that will stimulate the continuing efforts to understand AOD use, misuse, abuse, and possible dependence; the development of strategies to intervene with those who use substances; to increase access to the appropriate intervention and the evaluation of outcomes. We are particularly interested in articles describing the continuum of AOD use, misuse, abuse, and dependence; the utilization of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) by nurses and other healthcare providers in nonspecialized healthcare settings; intervention research with patient outcomes; and the evaluation of SBIRT effectiveness in terms of patient outcomes. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• New updates related to the continuum of use: abuse, dependence, and addiction
• Recent developments in the conceptualization of addiction
• Cultural, ethnic, and racial variation in AOD use
• Diagnostic changes and approaches in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual V
• Normalizing screening
• Universal screening
• Reaching at-risk populations
• Issues related to the nation’s veterans
• Demonstrating SBIRT’s effectiveness
• Educating future nurses and healthcare professionals

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal’s Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/nrp/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/nrp/aod/ according to the following timetable:

Lead Guest Editor

• Ann M. Mitchell, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA

Guest Editors

• Holly Hagle, National SBIRT ATTC, Institute for Research, Education and Training in Addiction (IRETA), Pittsburgh, PA 15235, USA
• Irene Kane, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
• Lauren Terhorst, Community Care Behavioral Health Organization, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, USA