DAST-10 Education with the Intent to Adopt at an Integrated Health Clinic

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to educate MHC staff on the DAST-10 screening tool in an attempt to increase their knowledge and intent to adopt the DAST-10 tool into their SBIRT protocolBackground: Illicit substance use is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States, resulting in over 70,000 overdose deaths in 2017 alone. The identification of substance abuse is critical to its management and improved patient outcomes. The DAST-10 is a reliable and effective screening tool for the identification of problematic drug use. The author educated staff at an integrated health clinic on the DAST-10 substance use screening tool with the goal of increasing their knowledge, perceived benefit, and intent to adopt the DAST-10 into their SBIRT protocol. Method: The quality improvement project was designed using the Model for Improvement and PDSA cycle. Participants were recruited via email to view a live, web-based in-service educating them on the DAST-10 screening tool. Participants completed a pretest and post-test survey to measure any change in the areas of knowledge of the DAST-10, perceived benefit of the DAST-10, and intent to adopt the DAST-10 into practice. Results: Nine staff members from the behavioral health department participated in the project. All nine participants completed the pretest, but only seven participants completed the post-test. The results showed an increase in participant knowledge and perceived benefit of the DAST-10, as well as their intent to adopt it into practice. Conclusion: The results of the project show the implementation was successful. The project shows that knowledge, perceived benefit, and intent to adopt the DAST-10 can be increased by educating staff through a web-based educational session.