The Addiction Health Services Research (AHSR) Conference has become a major annual event in the intersecting fields of drug/alcohol abuse and health services. Drawing attendees from across the nation, the conference provides an opportunity for senior and junior investigators, in formal presentations as well as informal discussion, to review current work and sharpen their ideas for future research. The conference is also an invaluable venue for extended, face-to-face interaction between investigators and program officials at NIDA and other Institutes and Centers within NIH. In these ways, the conference contributes to development of the nation's policy and research agenda for drug/alcohol abuse and health services and helps to ensure that applications for funding will be highly competitive and well crafted to address issues of high priority to NIH, researchers, and the practice community. The AHSR conference has grown rapidly in recent years. As a result, the task of conference organization has become more complex and time-consuming, and logistical issues require more careful attention during the conference and in the preceding months. The 2005 conference will be held in Los Angeles in the month of October and will be hosted by UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP). Douglas Longshore, Ph.D., and Christine Grella, Ph.D., will co-chair the conference. Building upon themes prominent at prior AHSR conferences, the 2005 conference theme is The Substance Abuse Services Ecology, which encompasses social, political, fiscal, regulatory, and other factors affecting the processes and outcomes of drug/alcohol abuse prevention, treatment, and related health services. Conference planning has already begun and will require increasing attention as October 2005 approaches. We request NIDA funding through the R13 mechanism to provide partial support for conference organization and logistics during the peak months of July to October 2005 and for follow-up evaluation and preparation of a special journal issue in October to December 2005. Funding will enable us to meet three Specific Aims: (1) provide partial support for investigators and staff who will organize the conference, collate and evaluate submissions, and collaborate with invited speakers to shape the content of presentations and ensure sufficient focus on the conference theme; (2) provide partial support for conference logistics including negotiation with potential sites, scheduling, registration, equipment rental, and publication of the conference agenda; and (3) provide partial support for investigators who will coordinate peer review and editing of manuscripts based on conference presentations for publication in a special issue of a drug abuse or health services journal.
