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Training Social Work Students to Engage in Substance Use Prevention Using Immersive Learning
Training Social Work Students to Engage in Substance Use Prevention Using Immersive Learning
-Dane Minnick, Ph.D.
Currently, social workers compose a large proportion of the mental and behavioral health workforce operating in the United States. This detail, in conjunction with statistics showing that many social workers practice in primary prevention settings such as schools and after school programs, provides the profession with a unique opportunity to enact and advocate for prevention programs in communities across the country. However, to effectively provide or advocate for effective prevention programming, social workers must have a solid understanding of the Strategic Prevention Framework and evidence-based prevention programs and practices. Unfortunately, the field of social work has historically provided inadequate education on substance use concepts and very limited training specific to substance use prevention as part of social work academics (Minnick, 2019; Minnick 20191). To address this issue, the Ball State Center for Substance Use Research and Community Initiatives (SURCI) recommends that social work departments begin utilizing immersive learning opportunities within social work education to provide students with training on substance use prevention concepts and an opportunity to engage in community-based substance use prevention activities.
Creating a substance use prevention immersive learning course
To effectively develop a substance use prevention immersive learning course, SURCI recommends utilizing an advanced, bachelors-level practice course as a platform for implementation. At Ball State, SURCI currently runs one advanced practice substance use prevention immersive learning course each semester that is open to all senior-level social work students. In this course, students gain comprehensive knowledge regarding:
- Professional leadership, communication, and management
- Environmental strategies and interventions
- Community organization and coalition building
- Evidence-based macro-interventions and professional practices
- Strategic Prevention Framework
- Grant writing
- Data analysis
As part of the curriculum, SURCI utilizes trainings and presentations developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and their prevention partners, such as Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, to provide in-depth instruction to students on the topics listed. Additionally, as part of a collaboration with the state of Indiana’s substance use prevention licensing board, students who complete the course are allowed to take the Certified Prevention Specialist exam and earn a credential as a CPS-Associate. This credential provides a way for students to identify that they have advanced knowledge in substance use prevention interventions and is considered a stepping-stone to earning the full CPS.
Running a substance use prevention immersive learning course
Operating a substance use prevention immersive learning course is a time intensive but manageable endeavor. As noted previously, course lectures cover topics specific to prevention that provide students with a strong base in prevention theories, concepts, and strategies. However, providing students with an opportunity to put their knowledge into practice is what sets this course apart from traditional learning opportunities. As part of the course, students are expected to participate in a range of different prevention activities such as:
- Community clean-up days
- Drug take back days
- Public health social marketing campaigns
- A university mocktail lounge
Through these activities, students gain hands-on experience developing and implementing community level interventions that have a measurable impact on community and university substance use rates. This experience also allows for students to not only gain valuable knowledge regarding substance use prevention concepts and practices, but also allows them the opportunity to make a tangible difference in their communities.
Evaluating a substance use prevention immersive learning course
Evaluating a substance use prevention immersive learning course is a simple endeavor given that students are expected to utilize the SPF and evaluate and report on their prevention activities as part of the course. For example, at SURCI’s last community clean-up day, students reported collecting one ton of trash with a total of 37 people participating in the event. At the previous drug take back day, students reported collecting 40 gallons of unused prescription drugs from 34 different student and community members. For their last public health social marketing campaign, students created and distributed 4,500 prevention postcards and hung 15 prevention posters in bars/fraternities across campus. Finally, seven out of nine students (78%) successfully passed their CPS-A exam in the first two semesters the course has been offered, with an additional 24 students set to take the exam in the fall of 2022.
Sustaining a substance use prevention immersive learning course
Achieving long-term sustainability for a substance use prevention immersive learning course is relatively easy to accomplish even with limited funding available. Organizing and participating in a community clean-up or drug take back day can be done at no cost through partnerships with local community coalitions or neighborhood organizations. Students can also organize campus events at no cost related to substance use prevention programming, and public health social marketing campaigns can be conducted with the physical resources already available within most social work departments. However, to provide a thoroughly immersive experience that allows for students to design unique public health projects, it is recommended that funding be sought out so students can utilize specific social marketing strategies (i.e., gimmicks) or create coalition materials such as t-shirts or hats to foster a realistic coalition environment. Fortunately, funding for immersive learning courses is generally readily available through a number of different organizations across the country.
Importance of a substance use prevention immersive learning course
Given what is known about substance use education in social work and the opportunities that social workers have to promote and enact social change in communities across the country, it is essential that substance use prevention concepts and practices begin to become incorporated into the foundations of social work education. Creating a behavioral health workforce that is highly trained in addictions prevention and treatment methodologies is paramount to addressing the ongoing opioid crisis that has gripped the United States over the past several years, as well as to prepare for future epidemics and the inevitable mental health consequences associated with Covid-19. To truly prepare for the future, substance use prevention needs to be placed at the forefront of academic programs training America’s next generation of behavioral health professionals, and SURCI believes the opportunities associated with immersive learning in social work are a perfect avenue for achieving this goal.
References
Minnick, D. (2019). Examining substance use education in social work: a survey of MSW program leaders. Journal of Social Work Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2019.1671260
Minnick, D. (2019)1. The state of substance use education in masters of social work programs: a content analysis of course listings and faculty profiles. Substance Abuse Journal, p. 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1080/08897077.2018.1550466
Dane Minnick, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work at Ball State University, Executive Director of the Addictions Coalition of Delaware County, Director of the Ball State Center for Substance Use Research and Community Initiatives, and a former fellow with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Dr. Minnick’s research and practice experience has centered on the development and implementation of community environmental strategies to address substance misuse, and he is a licensed social worker and board-certified in substance misuse prevention and problem gambling.