Achieving professional practice change: From training to workforce development ANN M. ROCHE, KEN PIDD & TOBY FREEMAN National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction, Flinders University, Bedford Park,Australia Abstract Issues. The traditional approach to increasing the capacity of health and human service professionals to deliver alcohol, tobacco and other drug interventions has been to build relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes through the provision of education and training. However, as a stand alone strategy, education and training is likely to have limited impact. Approach. This paper examines not only the features and characteristics of successful training programs and approaches, but also the wider array of systems and structural factors that might act as impediments to the implementation of new knowledge, skills and clinical behaviours. Key Findings. There is a constellation of factors that extend beyond traditional notions of ‘training’ that fall under the rubric of ‘workforce development’. Implications and Conclusions. A workforce development approach requires three levels of action—system-wide, capacity building and professional development to ensure effective responses. [Roche AM, Pidd K, Freeman T. Achieving professional practice change: From training to workforce development. Drug Alcohol Rev 2009;28:550–557] Key words: alcohol, drug, training, health professional. Introduction Workforce development in the alcohol and other drug field has been driven by substantial changes over recent decades in consumption patterns and advances in knowledge that have major implications for the devel- opment of a responsive, effective and sustainable health workforce. Increasing demands are placed on workers as the complexity of alcohol and other drug problems grows. Factors that contribute to this growing complex- ity include the shift to polydrug use, expanded phar- macotherapies, greater awareness of co-existing mental health disorders, foetal alcohol syndrome, child protec- tion issues and the increasingly young age of those who engage in problematic use. The research base that the field can draw on has also increased, and educational and service delivery models have changed; there is pres- sure on both organisations and their staff to keep up-to- date. These changes have led to increasing recognition of the need for a workforce development approach to develop the capacity of the workforce to effectively respond to current and emerging alcohol and other drug issues. Best practice training A key underlying principle of best practice in training is the use of research evidence to inform both content and delivery [1]. Although it is widely acknowledged that the content of training needs to be supported by a strong evidence base, there is less recognition that methods of training delivery also need to be evidence based. A meta-analysis of research concerning the effectiveness of strategies to increase the involvement of health profes- sionals in tobacco interventions identified effective programmes as those that involved outreach, multi com- ponents and combined educational and practice-based interventions [2]. Multi disciplinary training is also important in some contexts [3]. See papers in this Special Issue on training of doctors (Zwar et al. [4], Kralikova et al. [5]), nurses (Sarna et al. [6]), dentists (Gordon et al. [7]) and pharmacists (Willams [8]). Ann M. Roche PhD, Director, Ken Pidd PhD, Deputy Director,Toby Freeman PhD, Senior Research Officer. Correspondence to Professor Ann Roche, National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction, Level 3B, Mark Oliphant Building, Laffer Drive, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia. Tel: +61 8 8201 7575; Fax: +61 8 8201 7550; E-mail: ann.roche@flinders.edu.au Received 1 December 2008; accepted for publication 8 April 2009. Drug and Alcohol Review (September 2009), 28, 550–557 DOI: 10.1111/j.1465-3362.2009.00111.x © 2009 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs