The applicant proposes the continued development and expansion of a successful research education program for graduate level students and professionals to acquire innovative research skills to address drug abuse and related behavioral health concerns of children and adolescents. Implementation Science continues to be at the forefront of innovative research education; the Institute for Translational Research and Education in Adolescent Drug Abuse (ITRE) will focus on training clinical researchers in implementation research methods, translation of research into community practice, and the practical skills of participatory research. A cross-disciplinary approach, involving multiple colleges at the University of South Florida and Northern Arizona University, as well as local community service agencies, has been developed with special attention to evidence-based practice, translational research, and children and adolescents as an at-risk population. Our new emphasis is on addressing research education with an expanded target of behavioral health researchers with interests in working with at-risk populations including children and families of AI descent and Hispanic populations who have drug abuse and other co-morbid behavioral health conditions, defined as the array of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders of childhood that, along with drug abuse, have devastating effects on adolescent development.
This project proposes the continued development and expansion of an innovative model of research education that addresses best practices for translational research in the field of child and adolescent behavioral health, as it relates to substance abuse and co-occurring disorders with an emphasis on at-risk populations including children and families of AI descent and Hispanic populations.
