117: Assessing the training preferences of substance use disorder treatment and recovery services providers

Decreasing the length of time between research on best practices and adoption by behavioral health providers in the field is pivotal to meeting the needs of clients. The Mountain Plains Addiction Technology Transfer Center (MP ATTC) addresses this by providing training and technical assistance to substance use disorder treatment and recovery services professionals in HHS Region 8 (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming). Much of Region 8 has a limited number of behavioral healthcare providers and has limited access to training opportunities for the behavioral health professionals. To address this, the MPATTC provides training in a variety of modalities, including webinars, extended online learning series, in-person events, self-paced online courses, podcasts, on-the-spot consultations, and brief educational videos. An annual needs assessment of providers in Region 8 asked participants about their preference for each format. Responses revealed that there were differences in preferences based on type of provider.

Ryan Flinn, PhD – University of North Dakota; Wendy Woods, MA – University of Nevada, Reno