A team of interprofessional scientists and student scholars at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), a university with an emerging comprehensive Academic Health Sciences Center (AHSC) in Central Appalachia, is collaboratively working toward strategies to mitigate the negative impact of prescription drug abuse/misuse (PDA/M) in the region and beyond. This team has formed the East Tennessee State University Diversity-promoting Institutions Drug Abuse Research Program (ETSU DIDARP). The team proposes to build institutional substance abuse research infrastructure and develop a cadre of skilled researchers to combat PDA/M in the region by performing three research projects aimed at interprofessional communication (Projects 1 & 2) and drug disposal (Project 3). Overarching aims for the inaugural 5-year ETSU DIDARP period are to: 1.) Provide leadership and support within the ETSU Academic Health Sciences Center to increase the number of successful prescription drug abuse researchers from disadvantaged backgrounds; 2.) Provide mentored training opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, postgraduate fellows, and junior faculty members that increase the likelihood of pursuing prescription drug abuse research careers; 3.) Develop institutional infrastructure that supports the successful conduct of prescription drug abuse research and attracts external funding for prescription drug abuse research; 4.) Advance the field of prescription drug abuse prevention research and practice using institutional resources and the DIDARP studies; and 5.) Evaluate effectiveness of the DIDARP activities and disseminate the findings. These activities leverage unique assets that will contribute to the success of the program: 1) the geographical location of ETSU in Central Appalachia where PDA/M is disproportionately high; 2) AppNET, a novel Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)-funded interprofessional practice-based research network (PBRN); and 3) significant interdisciplinary PDA/M expertise.

Public Health Relevance

The ETSU DIDARP program would provide a platform for training future scholars in the area of substance absue research, provide resources for empirical research on a topic of urgent need -prescription drug abuse ? and provide resources to establish stonger, and long-lasting research infrastructure at the Academic Health Sciences Center at ETSU, a division of the university that is primed for growth in research capacity.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Resource-Related Research Projects (R24)
Project #
5R24DA036409-05
Application #
9246489
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZDA1)
Program Officer
Lloyd, Jacqueline
Project Start
2013-06-15
Project End
2019-03-31
Budget Start
2017-04-01
Budget End
2019-03-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
East Tennessee State University
Department
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
051125037
City
Johnson City
State
TN
Country
United States
Zip Code
37614
Hagemeier, Nicholas E; Tudiver, Fred; Brewster, Scott et al. (2018) Interprofessional prescription opioid abuse communication among prescribers and pharmacists: A qualitative analysis. Subst Abus 39:89-94
Snyder, Margie E; Frail, Caitlin K; Gernant, Stephanie A et al. (2016) Fellowships in community pharmacy research: Experiences of five schools and colleges of pharmacy. J Am Pharm Assoc (2003) 56:316-22
Pack, Robert P; Hagaman, Angela; Warfield, Sara et al. (2016) Interprofessional Research, Training and Outreach: The ETSU Prescription Drug Abuse/Misuse Working Group. Int J Health Sci Educ 3:
Hagemeier, Nicholas E; Tudiver, Fred; Brewster, Scott et al. (2016) Prescription drug abuse communication: A qualitative analysis of prescriber and pharmacist perceptions and behaviors. Res Social Adm Pharm 12:937-948
Gray, Jeffrey; Hagemeier, Nicholas; Brooks, Billy et al. (2015) Prescription Disposal Practices: A 2-Year Ecological Study of Drug Drop Box Donations in Appalachia. Am J Public Health 105:e89-94