SES Disparities in Illegal Drug Use and Treatment

University Of Colorado Denver/Hsc Denver, Aurora CO

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION: (Provided by Applicant): The principal investigator seeks a career award to extend his research on socioeconomic status (SES) and health to the fields of illegal drug use and illegal drug use treatment. The training proposed in this application will allow the P.I. to use available data to address research questions that will serve as groundwork for an independent research program, which will examine dynamic links between social conditions and illegal drug use and treatment. Several mentors with complementary skills will advise the candidate. Co-sponsor Dr. James Anthony, will advise the candidate's training in the area of illegal drug use epidemiology. Co-sponsor Dr. Wallace Mandell will advise the candidate's training in the area of community drug abuse treatment programs. An advisory board on minority health, consisting of Drs. William Vega, Dorothy Browne, and Thomas LaVeist, will provide feedback on the research projects of this proposal. In addition, Dr. Jerome Jaffee will provide assistance on pharmacological programs for drug abusers, and Drs. Kung-Yee Liang and Howard Chilcoat will provide assistance on methodology. The candidate also proposes to enroll in formal coursework to complement his training. These courses include the classes that are part of Dr. Jim Anthony's NIDA-sponsored training program in illegal drug use epidemiology, as well as the classes that are part of Dr. Wallace Mandell's Hubert Humphrey training program in illegal drug use treatment programs. The candidate proposes to enroll in these courses in the first year of project, and over the following three years he proposes to fulfill the requirements for a Master's Degree in Public Health. These courses will improve the candidate's skills by exposing him to the public health methods and theoretical frameworks currently in use in the field. The training and research of this project will provide the groundwork for the candidate's long-tern goal to better identify and understand the processes linking social structure and drug use/treatment.