The SBIRT Model: Assessing Alcohol & Substance Use Among LBGTQ+ Populations

LGBTQ+ individuals are at heightened risk for alcohol and substance use across the lifespan as a result of myriad stressors which can result in a variety of health and mental health concerns. While the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) model has been widely used among adults as a universal screening assessment for alcohol and/or substance use, there is a growing body of literature which examines its use among youth, older adults, and special populations (e.g., LGBTQ+). The SBIRT model includes a screening process to assess for risk of alcohol and/or substance use disorders via validated tools, followed by a brief intervention based on the tenets of motivational interviewing, which may or may not result in the need for a referral to care. This presentation will begin with some background on current statistics and trends related to alcohol and substance use among various segments of the LGBTQ+ community, followed by an introduction to SBIRT and each stage of the model, and conclude with a discussion about the impact of using universal screening tools and methods across a variety of practice settings.