The Southwest Alcohol Research Group (SARG) is a partnership of researchers and senior administrators at the University of New Mexico Institute for Public Health (IPH), the grantee, within the School of Medicine, a Minority Serving Institution; and the Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions (CASAA), the collaborating research program. The SARG will promote regional and national leadership in the development of alcohol-related interventions research with (1) Native Americans, (2) Hispanics, and (3) the rural poor of the American Southwest. Although there is a reasonable base of knowledge with regard to the epidemiology and patterns of alcohol use among southwest communities of color, very little is known about how to adapt and implement empirically supported interventions (ESIs). Similarly, little is known about implementation and evaluation of culturally supported interventions (CSIs). With a primary focus on intervention research, training and outreach dissemination, SARG will recruit and engage scientists from the target populations and others working with these groups to reduce alcohol-related health disparities and social problems.
