Engaging Clients Who Use Substances

Recommendation 1.1: Screen all clients to determine whether they use substances.

Recommendation 1.2: For clients who use substances, use universal screening questions and/or an appropriate screening tool to determine the level of support required.

Recommendation 1.3: Conduct a comprehensive assessment with all clients who screen positive for substance use, as appropriate based on the nurses’ knowledge, skill, time, setting and resources.

Recommendation 2.1: Build collaborative relationships with clients through the use of motivational interviewing techniques to develop the plan of care.

Recommendation 3.1: Use brief intervention to collaborate with clients identified as at risk for or experiencing a substance use disorder.

Recommendation 3.2: Advocate for and support access to combined pharmacological and psychosocial interventions, as appropriate, and promote the appropriate use of combined interventions to improve well-being and health outcomes.

Recommendation 3.3: Engage youth and adolescents at risk for or experiencing a substance use disorder using family-based therapies until recovery, as appropriate.

Recommendation 4.1: Reassess the effectiveness of the plan of care until the client’s goals are met.

Recommendation 5.1: Integrate theory and clinical practice opportunities regarding care of clients at risk for or experiencing a substance use disorder into the undergraduate education of nurses and other health-care providers.

Recommendation 5.2: Health-care providers participate in continuing education to enhance their ability to assess and work with clients at risk for or experiencing a substance use disorder.

Recommendation 5.3: Nurses practice reflectively to enhance their awareness of their current and evolving attitudes, perceptions and biases, and values and beliefs when working with clients at risk for or experiencing a substance use disorder.

Recommendation 6.1: Advocate for improved health outcomes by: 

• Increasing access to integrative and collaborative care for clients at risk for or experiencing a substance use disorder; and 
• Reducing health inequities by dedicating resources to preventing, treating, and supporting the recovery of individuals at risk for or experiencing a substance use disorder.

Recommendation 6.2: Organizations integrate prevention, assessment, and management of substance use and substance use disorders as a strategic clinical priority across all care settings.

Recommendation 6.3: Organizations integrate components of harm reduction and the social determinants of health into comprehensive, multi-faceted approaches to addressing substance use disorders.

Recommendation 6.4: Organizations use knowledge translation processes and multi-faceted strategies to integrate best practices in the assessment and management of substance use and substance use disorders across all practice settings.