Substance Misuse Training App

The use of interactive and virtual technologies is becoming an important component of training in the human service professions (probation, social work, nursing, medicine etc). Creative Technologies and ICJS have developed an app that takes an innovative but accessible approach to working with substance misuse and developing core skills in that work. This fits within the Future and Emerging Technologies, Health and Wellbeing and Security and Risk research themes of UOP. The aim is to demonstrate a working app that:

· Through the use of role playing and virtual scenarios assists the trainee in developing skills to work with substance misuse,
· To focus on core skills of building motivation for service users and to enable the trainee to engage in empathic relationships,
· To enable the trainee to engage in reflective practice and their capacity for empathy, motivational working and practical helping
· To allow the trainee to see the consequences of their decision making with a virtual service user.

Additionally this further testing and research will explore the potential for developing the app so that is programmable to reflect the range of services that are available locally to the trainee to maximise the opportunities for decision making based on local conditions (a virtual placement).
The testing of the proof of concept will involve:

· establishing the exact scope of the product and its requirements
· defining content
· testing functionality
· prioritizing requirements