Isralowitz, Richard & Findley, Patricia A. (Eds.): Mental Health and Addiction Care in the Middle East

Excerpt

Collaborative drug abuse research provides partners with the opportunity to develop knowledge jointly that neither partner could have developed independently. It increases partners’ exposure to new ideas, best practices, technical expertise, and financial resources. It also improves the odds for successful outcomes and extends the reach of an intervention (Lansang and Dennis 2004). Building cross-cultural research partnerships requires leaders and communities that share common goals, adopt similar treatment and prevention approaches, and nurture mutual trust. Straightforward communications and respect for cultural differences lay the groundwork for the human connections that contribute to successful collaboration over time (Varshney et al. 2016). International public health partnerships are more likely to succeed both scientifically and culturally when they are based on equity—where both parties contribute equally to defining and addressing an issue, set mutually acceptable priorities, identify scientifically appropriate interventions, remain independent organizations that rely on strong local leaders, and benefit in different but equal ways (Lansang and Dennis 2004, and Brzoska et al. 2017). Successful collaborators improve the sustainability and reach of evidence-based interventions by training local experts to adapt and deliver programs (Paniagua-Avila et al. 2017). Among the challenges are limited financial, human, and infrastructure resources, as well as less than optimal healthcare delivery systems, different regulatory environments, and political instability (Acharya et al. 2017; Brzoska et al. 2017; and Paniagua-Avila et al. 2017). …