Changes in social work students' attitudes and knowledge following opioid overdose prevention training.

Opioid use disorders are widespread, commonly occurring, and have serious impacts on individuals, families, and communities. When adequately trained, social workers play a pivotal role in treating populations impacted by opioid use through the provision of high-quality services and the shifting of negative attitudes related to opioid use. However, workforce projections indicate a growing shortage of behavioral health professionals qualified to work with such populations and, presently, social work programs are not equipped to meet these workforce needs.

Optimizing screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) training for nurses and social workers: Testing the added effect of online patient simulation.

Social workers and nurses are critical to the amelioration of substance misuse, making their training in evidence-based practices such as screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) particularly pertinent. Online patient simulation (OPS) is one training modality that allows students to develop and practice SBIRT skills that they might not obtain through didactic instruction, but it can be time and resource intensive. The aim of this study was to test the effect of OPS, over and above in-person training, on students' SBIRT attitudes, knowledge, and perceived skills.