Substance abuse intervention for health care workers: A preliminary report

The Workplace Managed Care Cooperative Agreement project targets 3,300 heal th care professionals in hospital, specialty clinic, and primary care setti ngs located in metropolitan New Mexico communities. This project will evalu ate whether enhancements to existing substance abuse prevention/early inter vention programs can prevent the onset of risky drinking, reduce prevalence of risky drinking, better identify employees who abuse alcohol and drugs, and improve employee wellness. This article describes one such enhancement (Project WISE[Workplace Initiative in Substance Education]), implemented at Lovelace Health Systems. Project WISE includes relatively low-cost element s such as substance abuse awareness training, information on how to reduce drinking, and brief motivational counseling. Evaluation will consist of bas eline comparisons of the intervention and comparison sites, a process evalu ation, a qualitative analysis using focus groups, and an outcome evaluation using health and work records. Methodological challenges, solutions, and i mplications for researchers undertaking similar projects are presented.