Aim: One major goal of successive 4-year government anti-drug initiatives in Taiwan is to expand the treatment capacities for substance use disorders (SUDs). One persistent challenge has been in recruiting or retaining manpower due to their lack of a common competency about SUDs. This study aims to translate and adapt the Universal Treatment Curriculum (UTC) to be the common basis for the professional treatment workforce. Methods (Optional): After obtaining permission to translate the UTC into Chinese, we conducted the adaptation in four stages: 1) the original material was translated into Chinese by professional translators; 2) the translated text was edited by two to three researchers or practitioners with expertise in SUDs; 3) we held workshops for each course by inviting local experts as instructors and enrolling case managers or addiction professionals around the country and their feedbacks were incorporated for the revision; and 4) all the booklets were further edited for consistency and supplemented with local data and resources. Results (Optional): From 2020 to 2022, we completed the transcultural translation and adaptation of the eight UTC courses at basic level with eight 1-day workshops. Totally, there were 311 attendees, mainly consisting of psychologists, social workers, researchers and other clinical practitioners. Results of the pre- and post- workshop tests revealed significant improvement in knowledge about SUDs except the last one on ethics for addiction professionals. Feedback questionnaires showed high satisfaction levels regarding workshop structure and information provision. In particular, the participants found small group discussion and interaction among different professionals especially helpful. Conclusions: The adaptation of the UTC courses at basic level into Taiwan version and the workshop format provides a useful model for future SUD professional training activities and serves to improve the system of education in this field.
Date:
2024-07-01
Relation:
Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2024 Jul 01;260(Suppl.):Meeting Abstract 110732.
