This application will support the career development of Dr. Derek Satre in the area of alcohol health services research for older adults. The proposal is submitted in response to PA-00-004, Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award; and PA 01-142, Health Services Research on Alcohol-Related Problems. Dr. Constance Weisner of the University of California, San Francisco, will serve as the mentor. During this five-year program, the candidate will obtain training and experience in design and conduct of clinical trials, alcohol and drug treatment services research in older adult populations, and behavioral interventions. Working with an established team, the candidate will broaden collaborative research networks and academic skills.
The specific aims of the proposed research are: 1) to develop an acceptable and appropriate group treatment for older adults to address recovery support needs, and 2) to test this intervention in a pilot study that will serve as the foundation for a future R01-1evel efficacy study. The projects proposed to reach this goal include interviews with older chemical dependency patients and providers in a general mixed-age outpatient chemical dependency program, to inform intervention refinement; the adaptation of an empirically-supported group-model behavioral intervention (interpersonal psychotherapy) for older adults in alcohol and drug treatment; and testing the intervention in a pilot study. In the pilot, intervention participants will receive 10 weekly sessions of group treatment, and control participants will receive an education group. It is hypothesized that intervention participants will have better outcomes at six months (alcohol consumption, depression, and interpersonal functioning) than participants who receive the education group. This research career development program will yield significant knowledge regarding treatment of older adults with alcohol and drug problems, and will prepare the candidate for independence as a scientist in alcohol services research.
