Initial Validation of a Brief Individual Readiness for Change Scale (BIRCS) for Use With Addiction Program Staff Practitioners

The Brief Individual Readiness for Change Scale is a rapid assessment tool for use with addiction program staff practitioners and social workers. Technology transfer and research-to-practice readiness are essential to programs and practitioners faced with implementing evidence-based practice techniques and showing positive outcomes. The focus of scale development to date has been global assessment of organizational readiness for change. A crucial, although frequently overlooked, element of technology transfer success is readiness for change of individual practitioners who are relied on to implement the new techniques. The ability to identify and ameliorate points of practitioner resistance prior to implementation of these techniques is a key to avoiding frustration, low staff morale, and poor outcomes. This study attempts to establish initial psychometrics of a brief scale to screen for practitioner's readiness for change. It is based on a sample of 594 addiction practitioners in 2 Southern states.