University Communications and Marketing

MSUB assistant professor awarded $15,000 grant 

Montana Healthcare Foundation grant to bring SBIRT training to students

University Communications and Marketing, 657-2266

MSU BILLINGS NEWS—Becky Anglin, an assistant professor at Montana State University Billings was recently awarded a $15,000 grant through the Montana Healthcare Foundation to add Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) training to the curriculum of the Healthcare Services program. 

“The SBIRT training will educate those taking the health promotion and education and family nursing courses on how to screen patients for substance abuse and help refer them to the proper services,” states Becky Anglin, department chair of healthcare services and the grant recipient. “Given the prevalence of drug and alcohol use among Montana’s youth and adult population, this training will help nurses in rural and urban Montana address a growing need for screening and early intervention.”

In Montana, about 70 percent of high school students report ever having used alcohol and of those students, 63 percent have engaged in binge drinking behavior. Twenty percent of Montana high school students also report current marijuana use, 10 percent report lifetime inhalant use and 13.2 percent report abuse of prescription drugs in their lifetimes. These trends in illicit drug use continue into adulthood. According to the 2012-2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, almost 25 percent of young adults in Montana report illicit drug use in the past month; additionally, 20 percent of Montana adults report binge drinking compared to 16.8 percent of adults in the U.S.

Anglin shares “The overall goal of the project is to increase nurses’ knowledge of SBIRT and to increase its use in all patient settings. The grant funds will be used to create the curriculum, pay licensing fees and provide training to faculty. As the RN to BSN program is online and those enrolled are currently working, the impact of adding SBIRT to the curriculum will be felt statewide. The project will focus on those who are low income, children, Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribes, and the urban American Indian population.”

For more information, contact Becky Anglin, department chair of health care services, at 406-896-5848 or rebecca.anglin@msubillings.edu.