© 2005 Behavioral Health Research Institute of the Southwest
612 Encino Place NE / Albuquerque, NM 87102 / 505.244.3099 / www.bhrcs.org

Substance Abuse Intervention for
Healthcare Workers
Funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention,
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

An Albuquerque area Medical Center employs 3,300 health care professionals and support staff in hospital, specialty clinic, and primary care settings located in four New Mexico communities. Thirty-five percent of employees are Hispanic, 60% non-Hispanic white, 2% Native American, and 5% other. Substance abuse prevention and early intervention services are provided to employees through three major programs. The Employee Assistance Program, established 10 years ago, provides assessment, brief counseling, and referral for troubled employees. The Employee Wellness Program, implemented 3 years ago, provides a health care manual, containing a section on drugs and alcohol, to all new employees. It also administers a health risk appraisal (HRA), which contains questions on alcohol abuse, and provides written feedback and recommendations. This Personal Health Program, begun last year, also administers a health risk appraisal, which asks questions about alcohol use. A feedback letter is provided to participants and the results are given to the primary care doctor. The present programs typify those offered by management in a variety of workplace settings across the country.

A prospective study will be conducted of an enhanced prevention and early intervention program that will be incorporated at one site only—(N=1950), which will serve as the intervention group. Those identified through a confidential screening process are offered the opportunity to voluntarily participate. The enhanced intervention will include supervisor and employee training in substance abuse recognition, literature on how to reduce drinking for those identified as risky drinkers through the HRA, and a brief motivational intervention for employees or family members who request such counseling. The other locations (N=1350), that receive the standard services only, will comprise the comparison site.

Evaluation will include baseline comparisons of the intervention and comparison sites, a process evaluation to document those interventions, a qualitative analysis utilizing focus groups to characterize employee attitudes and cultural differences, and an outcome evaluation utilizing results of employee satisfaction surveys, health and work records, and medical care utilization. Process measures include the number of employees served in each program, costs of services, rates of HRA participation, and percent of staff identified as being at risk for alcohol or drug problems. Outcome measures include results of job satisfaction surveys, absenteeism, staff retention, workman’s compensation claims, injury rates, number and source of EAP referrals, and medical care utilization rates. Overall program impact will be assessed for the entire population through repeated measures analysis. The results of this study will have major implications for workplace-based wellness programs.