The Center for Social Work Research (CSWR) in the School of Social Work (SSW) at The University of Texas at Austin (UT) proposes a Social Work Research Development Program (SWRDP) focusing on ethnicity and psychosocial factors as they relate to strategies for improving drug abuse prevention and treatment (including treatment readiness/engagement, utilization, retention, and outcomes) for African Americans and Mexican Americans. The CSWR at UT proposes to build an infrastructure for drug abuse research in the SSW and to increase participation of UT social work faculty in interdisciplinary drug abuse research to improve the quality of interventions aimed at reducing drug abuse and addiction in the US, especially among African American and Mexican American children, adults, and families. The proposed SWRDP will consist of an administrative core designed to facilitate federally funded research and a research core designed to focus on ethnic and psychosocial factors that increase treatment utilization, retention, and outcomes. Two pilot projects on these topics are proposed to begin during year 1. Strategies to leverage current strengths of the CSWR and fill gaps in infrastructure for an enduring program of interdisciplinary drug abuse research include establishing a Multi-disciplinary Research Advisory Board, a Multi-disciplinary Steering Committee, and a Community/Consumer Liaison Committee; sponsoring a three-hour, bi- weekly training seminar on attract talented doctoral students; building on the relationships already established with community-based treatment providers and other institutions involved in drug abuse research (e.g., the Waggoner Addiction Research Center); establishing a small grant mechanism to support pilot projects; and building on resources within the Diversity Institute and other local groups dedicated to cultural competence in research and practice. The SWRDP responds to the need for a rigorous, interdisciplinary program of culturally sophisticated drug abuse intervention and services, research based from the social work perspective. Using the Transtheoretical Stages of Change and a ecological model, the proposed research will recognize the complex interactions among social systems including clients and their families, service providers, and service organizations, and the need for culturally relevant approaches to prevention and treatment.
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