title: Undergraduate medical education in substance abuse: a review of the quality of the literature.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To prepare to develop a medical school curriculum on substance abuse disorders (SADs), the authors conducted a review of the quality of the sparse published literature.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors searched MEDLINE (1950 through December 2008) using OVID, PsycINFO, and PubMed to identify all studies of SAD interventions targeted toward undergraduate medical students. Of the 1,084 studies identified initially, 31 reported sufficient data to allow the authors to evaluate quality using Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI) scores. The authors also determined the impact of the studies by considering three-year citation rate and journal impact factor. A detailed review of the literature provided data on contact hours and intervention content.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The three-rater intraclass correlation coefficient for total MERSQI score was 0.82 (95% confidence interval: 0.70-0.90). The mean MERSQI score was 10.42 of a possible 18 (SD 2.59; range: 6.33-14.83). MERSQI scores were higher for more recently published studies and correlated with three-year citation rate but not impact factor. The mean contact time for 26 studies was 29.25 hours (range: 0.83-200 hours).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The literature provides a variety of educational methods to train medical students in SAD detection and intervention skills. This literature is of variable quality and provides limited guidance for development of curricula and medical education policy. Better methods of curriculum evaluation and publication guidelines would help ensure that this literature has a positive impact on educational practice and public health.
authors.affiliation: Substance Abuse Research and Education Training (SARET) Program, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Devyani
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kothari
authors.forename: Marc N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Gourevitch
authors.forename: Joshua D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ellie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grossman
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Truncali
authors.forename: Tavinder K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Ark
authors.forename: Adina L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Kalet
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D055811:Journal Impact Factor; D017145:Models, Educational; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders