? Economic evaluation of drug prevention programs and treatment interventions is critical to identify the most efficient use of scarce resources. While work in this area continues to grow, there is still a dearth of rigorous economic evaluations of such programs. This K01 Award would allow Dr. Jennifer Prah Ruger to advance her skills to conduct health economic and policy research on the efficiency of addiction services among vulnerable populations such as women, adolescents and members of minority groups to ultimately improve addiction services for these underserved populations.
The specific aims of this proposal are: (1) to acquire advanced knowledge of the epidemiology and etiology of substance use disorders; (2) to develop greater understanding of clinical approaches to the assessment and treatment of drug use disorders and associated comorbid conditions; (3) to enhance knowledge and skills pertaining specifically to the economic evaluation of addiction services; and (4) to obtain ongoing training in the responsible conduct of research. Dr. Prah Ruger's career development plan includes supervised study with Linda B. Cottler, Ph.D. in relation to epidemiological and substance abuse issues; with Arlene Rubin Stiffman, Ph.D. on issues related to substance abuse and mental health services for adolescents; and with Michael T. French, Ph.D. and Milton C. Weinstein, Ph.D. on the methods of economic evaluation, along with coursework, grand rounds, relevant seminar series, and professional meetings. Dr. Prah Ruger will use the knowledge and skills developed through these career development activities to conduct three research projects. The first project includes an assessment of the cost effectiveness of a smoking cessation program for low-income pregnant women (Dr. Weinstein). The second project evaluates the incremental cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis of a three-arm public health intervention to prevent HIV and STDs in at-risk, drug-using women (Drs. Cottler and Weinstein). The third project examines the costs of addiction and mental health services for reservation- and urban-based American Indian youth (Drs. Stiffman and French). The proposed plan will provide Dr. Prah Ruger with the training, mentoring, time and resources to develop the specific skills and knowledge that will allow her to lead independent research on the economic evaluation of addictive services. ? ? ? ?
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