IBA Training and Learning

Making it happen

In order to ensure that the roll-out of IBA is as widespread and as swift as possible there needs to be brief but effective training available for thousands of professionals in a variety of settings. Several professions such as pharmacy and social work have identified the need for training in alcohol and we should capitalise on this. Potential exponents of IBA would be GPs, Practice Nurses, Social workers and Probation Officers, pharmacists and a range of other health and social care or criminal justice workers.

Whilst IBA is not esoteric or complex, research has shown that practitioners are often reluctant to discuss alcohol with patients/clients because they aren't clear how to broach the subject. There are also indications that practitioners are less likely to bring up the subject of drinking with those whom they perceive as similar to themselves. e.g. GPs with middle class professionals. Training needs therefore to imbue professionals with confidence and for some groups may be deal as much with providing useful perspectives as providing hard information and skills.

As always, training provision will be shaped by a number of constraints, funding, access, starting competence and time limitations will all impact on what can be provided and commissioners will need to be realistic about these factors whilst ensuring that training delivers competence described in the National Occupational Standards - AH10. Designers of training programmes will need to choose appropriately from a menu of training approaches which are outlined below.

E-Learning

As part of the Department of Health's Alcohol Improvement Programme, e-Learning for Healthcare has been commissioned by to develop an Alcohol IBA e-learning resource for professionals. This consists of a 1 - 2 hour e-learning module which will deliver the knowledge and skills required by professionals in various settings to deliver IBA. The module is available on the Alcohol Learning Centre. The Alcohol IBA e-learning module is initially framed within a primary care setting but the learning material is sufficiently generic to be of use to professionals in other settings. Further learning pathways are in development for other settings starting with hospital settings and community pharmacy.

The e-learning module contains an assessment section but it should be noted that this is intended to encourage learners to reflect on the module in order to cement learning rather than representing a thoroughgoing assessment, which would be too onerous to include in a short module. Records of completion can be printed off by practitioners after completing the assessment section. This record of completion will demonstrate that the practitioner is in possession of some of the key understanding required to perform IBA but this should not be taken as any form of accreditation or evidence of practitioner competence.

It is not intended that e-learning will be the sole learning strategy for IBA training as it is recognised that face-to-face teaching and learning may well be more appropriate and desirable particularly for multi-disciplinary team training and for local/regional learning sets. Therefore, it is anticipated that IBA training will be commissioned by PCTs, Government Offices, Local Authorities etc.

Learning Requirements

Skills for Health and Skills for Care have worked with employers and expert practitioners to develop a National Occupational Standard (NOS) which describes competence in delivering alcohol IBA which represents the outcome of training both in terms of what practitioners need to know and do.

Training should provide the knowledge and skills required in order to enable the learner to perform competently against the competence described in the NOS, AH10 Employ techniques to help individuals to adopt sensible drinking behaviour (See below) the learner should also understand the wider health benefits of using IBA including the evidence base for its efficacy and how this contributes to the broader public health and prevention agenda. This is, to some extent required, in the knowledge specification of the NOS. It will also be important for the training to encourage reflection by the learner on their own attitude to alcohol and consider their own health and the health of their families.

When designing training based on NOS it is important to estimate which of the knowledge and skills the target audience is likely to possess already, for example they may already be trained in skills such as 'motivational interviewing'. Learners should be encouraged to reflect on whether they already possess some of the core skills and be able to apply them in a new service context. Where practitioners already have such skills then it may be appropriate to train them up to extended brief intervention level.

There may also be benefits in combining IBA training for alcohol with other healthy lifestyle programmes aimed at behaviour change, for example covering subjects such as smoking, obesity etc. For example embedding IBA within 'Health Trainer' programmes, which are designed to motivate and help people to set goals by developing personal health plans.

• National Occupational Standards Alcohol
  National Occupational Standard AH10, 'Employ techniques to help individuals to adopt sensible drinking behaviour'.

More

Commissioning IBA Training guidance

IBA Training and Learning

IBA Training Resources

IBA Tools

National Occupational Standards: Skills for Health website