Date of Conferral

1-21-2026

Date of Award

January 2026

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Cara Krulewitch

Abstract

Summary The project was a practice-focused quality improvement project endeavor aimed at augmenting staff utilization of an evidence-based screening instrument for alcohol use disorder (AUD). The problem under study in an outpatient behavioral health setting stemmed from insufficient staff understanding and poor implementation of established screening and intervention protocols, heightening the risk of under identification and ineffective management of AUD. Resolving this issue is crucial in nursing practice because nurses play a pivotal role in early identification, brief intervention, referral to treatment, and fair care provision for patients with substance problems. The project was centered on the following practice-focused question: Will postintervention staff survey show improvement after staff receive training on using an evidence-based alcohol use screening tool? The objective of the doctoral evidence-based project was to improve staff proficiency in screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) framework. In the project, I employed pre- and post-test design alongside descriptive statistical analysis to assess alterations in staff knowledge after a 1-hour SBIRT educational session. The findings revealed a sizable increase in participants’ mean scores from 3.67 to 9.33, signifying enhanced staff comprehension of evidence-based AUD management. The findings of this evidence-based project support SBIRT instruction as a potent approach to enhance nursing practice. The implications of the project include enhanced patient safety, culturally attuned care, and beneficial social transformation via diminished alcohol-related harm achieved using evidence-based screening and intervention protocols for patients served by informed nursing staff.

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