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Adapting SBIRT for Older Adults

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Alcohol and Aging

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Abstract

Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) is an evidence-based practice for identifying and reducing problematic use of alcohol or other substances. It incorporates a public health approach of large-scale, universal prescreening often conducted in healthcare settings and follows with brief advice for those identified as moderate risk for substance use problems, brief treatment for those at moderate to high risk, or referral to treatment for those at highest risk. This chapter discusses adaptation of the SBIRT initiative based on experience with the Florida BRITE Project (BRief Intervention and Treatment for Elders) involving over 85,000 screenings. Important lessons were learned from BRITE when comparing implementation in non-healthcare vs. healthcare settings and when considering age-appropriate screening criteria to determine risk of substance misuse in the older adult population.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mental Health Law and Policy, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, University of South Florida, 13301 Bruce B. Downs Blvd, MHC 2700, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA

    Lawrence Schonfeld Ph.D.

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  1. Lawrence Schonfeld Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Lawrence Schonfeld Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College at the City University of New York, New York, New York, USA

    Alexis Kuerbis

  2. Division of Geriatrics, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA

    Alison.A. Moore

  3. School of Social Work, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Paul Sacco

  4. Department of Behavioral & Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Faika Zanjani

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Schonfeld, L. (2016). Adapting SBIRT for Older Adults. In: Kuerbis, A., Moore, A., Sacco, P., Zanjani, F. (eds) Alcohol and Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47233-1_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47233-1_14

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47231-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47233-1

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