G5.01 - Learning Lab: Exploring the Integration of Tobacco Treatment into Peer Support Specialist Training for Substance Use Disorders

Brief Abstract Summary: Tobacco use among people with behavioral health conditions occurs at rates 2–3 times higher than the general population, yet peer support professionals, trusted guides in behavioral health settings, often lack specific training in tobacco treatment. This session shares research from Oregon’s NiTR initiative examining Peer Support Specialist (PSS) and Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS) training, highlighting barriers, facilitators, and actionable strategies for workforce development. Attendees will learn how integrating tobacco use disorder (TUD) treatment into behavioral health and substance use recovery can improve outcomes, gain insights from BH professionals with dual training, explore participatory approaches for assessing training needs, and discuss practical recommendations to enhance TUD support within recovery services, ultimately promoting health equity and improving quality of life.

Detailed abstract description: Tobacco use is one of the leading causes of preventable illness and death among people with behavioral health (BH) conditions. This population experiences disproportionate rates of tobacco-related disease and early mortality. Yet despite wanting to quit at similar rates as the general population, and many already receiving support for substance use recovery, people with BH conditions are among the least likely to receive cessation support. Treating tobacco use disorder (TUD) improves treatment outcomes for other behavioral health conditions, including substance use disorders (SUD), making treatment more effective while enhancing quality of life.

Peer Support Specialists (PSS) are a vital part of Oregon’s health promotion and behavioral health workforce, offering culturally responsive, lived-experience-based support for people with BH conditions, especially those navigating recovery from SUD. Because PSS are integral to the SUD recovery process, it makes sense to equip them with the skills and competencies to also address TUD. However, current PSS training only minimally addresses this critical health equity issue.

This session will share research conducted by Rede Group for Oregon Health Authority’s Nicotine Treatment and Recovery in Behavioral Health (NiTR) initiative. The research design centers lived experience, with support from the NiTR Expert Panel composed of individuals with behavioral health and tobacco use backgrounds to guide the work. We examined the intersection of Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS) and PSS training through multiple methods, including a curriculum crosswalk, over 35 surveys with PSS and TTS professionals state-wide, and 13 interviews with PSS trainers, TTS trainers, and dually trained professionals. A mixed-methods analysis was used to triangulate findings and identify actionable themes and recommendations.

Findings highlight the distinct training cultures of the TTS and PSS programs and the perceived value and feasibility of integrating TUD learning into PSS workforce development. While this research underscores the importance of addressing tobacco use within SUD recovery, it also identifies persistent barriers, such as scope of practice concerns, limited training time, certification requirements, and resource constraints, and points to needed systemic solutions, including stronger facility policies and access to cessation resources.

This session will include the perspective of BH professionals who participated in the research and are trained in PSS and TTS. Together, we will discuss rationale for including TUD treatment in SUD treatment, provide recommendations for how to conduct a participatory assessment for workforce development, share findings from the research, and engage participants in discussing implications of these findings.