Partnerships in Drug Abuse Prevention Services Research: Perspectives from the National Institute on Drug Abuse

Excerpt

The mission of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is to lead the nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction. Within NIDA, the Prevention Research Branch (PRB) supports a developmentally grounded program of research on the prevention of initiation of drug use, progression to abuse and dependence, and transmission of drug-related HIV infection. This research involves the use of rigorous scientific methods to test theoretically derived hypotheses to advance our understanding of the science of prevention within diverse populations and settings. Studies that support this purpose include: investigations of cognitive, behavioral, and social processes as they relate to the development of novel prevention approaches; tests of the efficacy and effectiveness of newly developed and/or modified (adapted) prevention programs; studies of services research questions on the processes associated with the selection, adoption, adaptation, implementation, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness of science-based interventions; and the development of methodologies appropriate for studying complex aspects of prevention science. These programs of research are intended to provide pathways toward the discovery of population-level approaches for the prevention of drug abuse and dependence, drug-related problems (such as mental health, interpersonal violence, criminal involvement, and lost productivity), and drug-related diseases and disorders (e.g. HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, and C, or comorbid drug and psychiatric disorders) across the life course. …