BEHAVIORAL THERAPIES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 

NIH GUIDE, Volume 25, Number 16, May 17, 1996

 

PA NUMBER:  PA-94-078

 

P.T. 34



Keywords:

  Drugs/Drug Abuse 

  Behavioral/Social Studies/Service 

  Rehabilitation/Therapy, Emotional 

  0745007 

  Psychotherapy 

 

National Institute on Drug Abuse

 

PURPOSE

 

This notice is an addendum to program announcement PA-94-078,

published in the NIH Guide, Vol. 22, No. 26, July 15, 1994. The

purpose of this addendum is to encourage research on the development

and testing of assessment instruments and brief behavioral therapies

for drug abuse and dependence and related HIV/AIDS risk behaviors for

patients that are seen in office- based (e.g., pediatrics, adolescent

medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, ob-gyn) and other

health care settings.  Many patients seek medical treatment for

medical problems related to undetected or untreated drug abuse, and

there is a need for screening instruments to detect these individuals

and interventions to treat their drug abuse.

 

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is supporting the study

of behavioral therapies (including, but not limited to,

psychotherapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, family therapy,

skills training, and counseling approaches) that will potentially

have a significant impact on reducing drug abuse and addiction and

reducing HIV/AIDS risk behaviors.  For those investigators applying

for grants under the Behavioral Therapies Development Program, this

notice is meant to supplement Program Announcement PA-94-078, which

is still in effect and should be consulted in conjunction with this

addendum.

 

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

 

Individuals who abuse psychoactive drugs (nicotine, marijuana,

cocaine, prescription drugs, etc.) receive health care in a variety

of office-based treatment settings from health professionals who may

fail to recognize drug abuse or be unsure how to intervene once the

problem is identified.  Most of the screening and assessment tools

currently in use have been developed to identify alcohol abuse and

alcohol-related problems.  There is a need to develop and test a)

psychometrically reliable and valid screening and assessment

instruments to detect drug use disorders and b) brief therapeutic

interventions directed at the drug abuse and related health risk

behaviors that can be used by health professionals in health care

settings outside the conventional drug treatment program system.

Such instruments and interventions may provide an opportunity for

brief therapeutic interventions with individuals in early stages of

drug abuse disorders and/or may increase patient acceptance of

referrals to more intensive treatment for individuals more refractory

to brief behavioral interventions.  These approaches have been

primarily studied in individuals who abuse alcohol and/or tobacco and

are now just beginning to be studied in individuals who abuse illicit

drugs and engage in other health risk behaviors.

 

Research on brief therapeutic interventions that may be delivered by

a range of health professionals (physicians, nurses, social workers,

counselors, and others) is needed. Studies are needed to determine:

 

o  effects of brief behavioral interventions given prior to or

instead of intensive treatment;

o  effects of brief interventions upon referrals to intensive

treatment and upon treatment outcome;

o  effects of brief interventions upon treatment compliance;

o  the critical elements that account for therapeutic efficacy; and

o  the appropriate duration and intensity of this treatment approach.

 

In addition, studies are sought on the development and testing of

psychometrically reliable and valid screening and assessment

instruments to detect drug abuse and addiction and related health

risk behaviors in office-based and other health care settings by a

variety of health professionals.

 

Applicants are strongly encouraged to develop and test brief

behavioral therapies that address the unique needs and perspectives

of women, children, adolescents, and racial and ethnic minorities.

In addition, applicants are encouraged to address reducing drug abuse

related health risk behaviors such as injection and high risk sexual

behaviors relevant to HIV/AIDS transmission in the development and

testing of brief behavioral therapies.  All applications must be

submitted on the grant application form PHS (rev. 5/95) using the

receipt dates in the form.

 

INQUIRIES

 

Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to:

 

Dorynne Czechowicz, M.D.

Division of Clinical and Services Research

National Institute on Drug Abuse

5600 Fishers Lane, Room 10A-12

Rockville, MD  20857

Telephone:  (301) 443-0107

Email:  dczechow@aoads.ssw.dhhs.gov

 

.

Return to 1996 Index

Return to NIH Guide Main Index

	Office of Extramural Research (OER)			National Institutes of Health (NIH) 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, Maryland 20892			Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Note: For help accessing PDF, RTF, MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Audio or Video files, see Help Downloading Files.