University of Miami SBIRT Program Description

The project, “Integrating SBIRT into primary care: A School of Nursing Training Program” takes place primarily at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies but includes a number of academic and community partners. 

The project is designed to provide SBIRT and Motivational Interviewing training to a diverse set of approximately 450 healthcare students and professionals in the classroom and in practice settings each year. The project establishes a strong team consisting of two Schools within the University of Miami (Education and Nursing), the School of Public Health and Social Work from Florida International University, and a set of diverse practice settings that reach poor and underserved largely minority populations.  These community partners are the University of Miami Hospital, the St. John Bosco Free Clinic and the ConnectFamilias community partnership.

The South Florida metropolitan area is the most populated region in the South East U.S. and the seventh most populated region in the U.S. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). Miami-Dade County, the most ethnically diverse county in South Florida, achieved “majority minority” status in 2010, with a population of 2,500,625 individuals - comprised of 62.5% Hispanic and 19.5% Black (Miami Dade County, 2010; US Census Bureau, 2010). South Florida is often cited as an example of what metropolitan areas across the country will be like in the future.  

The team we have brought together has extensive experience in tackling complex implementation barriers, partnerships, training activities, and in building cultural competence into the training and services system. The SBIRT training program is designed to enhance the skills of nurses, nursing students, medical residents, social workers, and counselors in diverse practice settings, in detecting problem substance use, enhancing the motivation of the patient to acknowledge substance use problems and to provide directly or through referral, the best possible culturally sensitive treatment. To ensure that we do not leave out individuals whose primarily language is Spanish and who are influential in the Hispanic community, we will refine our capability to deliver training and material in Spanish as well as to seek the community’s input so as to ensure cultural competence.   

The goals of the project are: 1) To achieve buy-in and adoption of SBIRT and to help to integrate it into behavioral health and primary care settings; 2) To increase the number of nurses, residents, counseling, nursing and social work students that are trained in SBIRT and competent to deliver MI and Brief Intervention; 3) To create collaborative multidisciplinary teams at all practice sites that support implementation of SBIRT and serve as catalysts for systems change; 4) To create a seamless network between specialized treatment programs and the early intervention teams that cuts across the healthcare system; 5) To conduct workforce development activities across Florida with a focus on SBIRT, MI, and the integration of behavioral health and primary care; and 6) to collect de-identified data on trainees and patients served at the SBIRT trainings at our practice settings. 

One of the first endeavors we have undertaken is to create a mobile team within the University of Miami Hospital, that will be able to respond with Brief Intervention when a screening anywhere in the hospital identifies a patient in need of this service. The hospital’s Emergency Department is one of the prime targets for screening and BI.   

Daniel A. Santisteban, Ph.D.

Clinical Psychologist/Professor

School of Nursing and Health Studies

University of Miami

Mail: PO Box 248153

Coral Gables, Florida 33124

Phone: (305) 284-4271

Fax:     (305) 284-4249