Curriculum for Addiction Professionals > Competency 4: Prevention > 8. Training Primary Care and Other Helping Professionals
Competency 4: Prevention
Training Primary Care and Other Helping Professionals
Women use health services to a greater extent than men. Women with substance use
problems often make initial contact with services other than specialized
substance abuse treatment services. They may:
- Visit their doctor or other primary health care worker for routine health care
- Seek counseling for family or mental health problems
- Seek specialized medical services such as prenatal care
- Come to the attention of child welfare authorities or the criminal justice system
Training staff in these settings to routinely screen for alcohol and other substance
use problems and refer or briefly intervene when problems are identified can improve
outcomes, particularly with early intervention.
Training should address knowledge, skills, and attitudes about women with alcohol
and other substance use problems and the effectiveness of treatment. A survey of
women in treatment found that most (74 percent) believed it was appropriate for
doctors and other health workers to routinely ask their clients about their use
of alcohol and other drugs and to offer advice and support.17
People with alcohol use problems often have an array of needs that cannot be addressed
by a single service. For women, coordination and collaboration between alcohol abuse
treatment services and other services are crucial. Services may include prenatal
and obstetric/gynecological services, child welfare services, crisis services such
as women’s shelters, and mental health services. In addition, different services
will be required at different phases of the client’s alcohol abuse treatment.
For example, during aftercare, employment and housing services are important.
Providing training is one approach to networking and linking. Training can be reinforced
by other activities such as:
- Collaboration between sectors to develop best practice models for addressing dual
problems (e.g., women with substance problems who have experienced violence)
- Shared or cross-training between sectors (e.g., HIV/AIDS treatment services and
substance abuse treatment services)
- Substance abuse treatment staff assigned to work from a health or social service
agency or vice versa
- Visits to primary care or other service providers to explain the needs and services
required by women receiving substance abuse treatment services
- Partnership agreements between services that have mutual clients