Background
Though approximately two million Americans currently live with an opioid use disorder (OUD) and more than 10 million reported misusing opioids in the past year, OUD education remains underemphasized in behavioral health professional training and education curricula. Inadequate OUD education impacts provider preparedness, confidence, and practice gaps across occupations and settings. Incorporating patient-centered OUD competencies in the areas of self-efficacy building and attitude training is imperative for addressing professional practice gaps and ensuring high-quality care.
Aims/Research Questions
This study proposes to determine training variation among opioid treatment provider types and identify strategies for effective dissemination and implementation of best practices in OUD education. The BHWRC will use findings from this mixed-methods study to make recommendations for the addition of OUD treatment competencies to training program curricula to strengthen the workforce responsible for providing treatment, with a focus on evidence-based pain management education, telemedicine skills training, and substance use disorder (SUD) practices. Research questions this study is intended to answer include:
- How does training in diagnosis and treatment of OUD differ by provider type?
- How does provider training in OUD treatment vary by state?
- What is the relationship between OUD training requirements and number of providers qualified to treat OUD by state?
- What state-based loan repayment and other incentive opportunities exist for providers qualified to treat OUD?
- What OUD treatment methods are included in provider training program curricula?
Findings
The SUD/OUD education requirements are not equal across states or training programs. State-specific SOPs vary in the robustness of their SUD- and OUD-specific education requirements, including mandated hours of SUD/OUD content and continuing education, and prescribing authority for APRNs and PAs differs across states. Staffing, curriculum time availability or constraints, and funding are consistent areas of both successes and challenges, with staff advocacy for OUD content inclusion and loan repayment opportunities as facilitators to maintaining program longevity.
