TPCP and DCC Partner to Provide Cessation Counseling - January 21st, 2010
This fiscal year, TPCP has partnered with Arkansas Department of Human Services’ Division of Behavioral Health Services’ Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention (OADAP), the Department of Community Corrections (DCC), and University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), to provide intensive tobacco treatment training to close to 80 substance abuse counselors.
The Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program (TPCP) continues to strive to reach more disparate populations by integrating the practice of substance abuse counseling with tobacco treatment. Persons living with substance abuse coupled with smoking habits have rates as high as 75 to 90 percent, compared to 21 percent in the general population. Additionally, research shows that youth consistently use tobacco before any other illegal substance. Fortunately, studies show that when people stop tobacco use when they are also stopping substance abuse, they are 25 percent less likely to go back to their substance of abuse even if they start smoking again.
The partnership’s overall goal is to show that substance abuse clients want and can quit tobacco use, and as result, they are more likely to abstain from illegal drug use. Moreover, a secondary goal for TPCP is to grow the number of Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialists in Arkansas. As a result, TPCP is offering a second cycle of the TTS training for 40 participants. In addition to the added educational sessions, a train-the-trainer cycle will prepare 20 graduates who are already experienced trainers to become tobacco treatment trainers.
The Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS) Training was facilitated by University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Center for Tobacco Treatment Research and Training (UMMAS) and consisted of online training, in-person classes and an intensive exam. Participants are now beginning to work on the certification process which consists of actually delivering tobacco cessation counseling to substance abuse clients, documenting a case study, and making a presentation to the UMASS Review Board.
Staff from TPCP, DCC and OADAP worked collaboratively with UAMS to develop an evaluation for the above-mentioned project. The evaluation element aims to begin in March 2010, following legislative review and approval.
