Using technology to deliver evidence-based, behavior change interventions targeting substance use disorders and related issues (including HIV and Co-occurring disorders) may enable widespread dissemination of such interventions to an array of audiences in diverse settings. The pioneering work conducted by our research group has led to the identification of innovative and efficacious technology-delivered interventions targeting substance abuse treatment among adults and adolescents, HIV prevention for substance-abusing adults and adolescents, as well as substance abuse prevention among children, adolescents and young adults. The Overall Aim of the proposed P30 Center (Center for Technology and Health [CTH]) is to integrate expertise across multiple disciplines and provide an infrastructure to enhance the quality, pace of achievement and impact of our team's innovative scientific research and development activities that systematically combine science-based behavior change interventions with state-of-the-art technologies to create, empirically test and disseminate technology-based interventions targeting substance use disorders and related issues. The Center will achieve this Aim via 4 Cores. (1) The Scientific Core will serve as a resource to Center investigators to enhance the quality, efficiency and impact of their research projects. This will include establishing an interdisciplinary team of advisors, each a leader in their field, sharing important resources, integrating results and methods across projects, and examining unexplored empirical questions. (2) The Dissemination and Implementation Core will disseminate integrated project methods and findings to a broad audience, with consult from an expert Board, and serve as a centralized resource providing knowledge, and facilitating access to technology-based behavior change interventions targeting substance use disorders and related issues (via online toolkits of interventions and a roadmap for their adoption in community systems). We will also train the next generation of researchers in this field. (3) The Pilot Project Core will support the development of a pipeline of new areas of research that could then progress to more rigorous empirical testing via external funding mechanisms after the pilot phase. This Core will support novel pilot projects that offer considerable promise to have a transformative impact on the field. (4) The Administrative Core will provide programmatic leadership that ensures successful coordination of the activities across Cores and an infrastructure to enhance synergy among our expert team.
Empirically supported, technology-based interventions (e.g., computer, web, mobile devices) targeting substance abuse and HIV enable widespread reach of evidence-based care and offer the potential to have a marked public health impact. The proposed unique Center will serve as a national resource for researchers, technologists, consumers, service providers, service payors, and policy makers interested in the development, evaluation, dissemination and implementation of technology-based behavioral interventions for substance abuse and related issues.
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