Our goal is to enhance our capacity to conduct drug abuse research with criminal justice populations from a public health perspective, at the University of Puerto Rico, Graduate School of Public Health. Our research development strategy centers on developing proficiency in research competencies in a critical mass of faculty that will cohesively pursue epidemiological and health services research relevant to engaging and retaining in community drug treatment re-entering inmates with histories of a substance use disorder. The program will provide as well opportunities to develop research capacity in students at different stages in their education and to encourage them to engage in drug abuse research careers. The research projects submitted with this application will explore individual and drug treatment provider factors that may predict entry and retention in community drug treatment for re-entering ex-offenders with a substance use problem. The proposed projects should contribute to address the disproportionate prevalence of untreated substance use problems in incarcerated populations as well as the large proportion of untreated ex-offenders that become re-addicted and who are re-incarcerated shortly after release The research projects include three pilot and one developmental project that address NIDA research priorities such as the services needs of special populations and studies of service providers. We expect MIDARP support to enhance our capacity to engage in NIH funded drug abuse research of relevance to addressing disparities borne by Latinos with a substance use disorder. To reach our goal, we have established the following aims: 1) Provide leadership, support, and coordination to increase the number of Latino faculty and students capable of successfully conducting drug abuse research relevant to a criminal justice context. 2) Enhance institutional and extra- institutional resources that sustain the successful planning, financing, and conduct of drug abuse research. 3) Disseminate research findings in a timely and effective fashion to the research community, to the academic programs, and to other stakeholders involved in addressing the drug treatment needs of ex- offenders with a substance use problem.
We expect to build a synergestic cluster of faculty, students, and academic leaders that have expressed a growing interest in the public health impact of problems associated with drug abuse in the criminal justice population.
