Services Research Branch

Research Project Priorities:

• Financing: Identifying ways that financing for drug abuse treatment can help expand access to care, ensure high quality performance, and foster coordination of service delivery across systems
• Innovative Therapeutic and Business practices: Stimulating the adoption and effective application of innovative evidence-based therapeutic and business practices among the nation's substance abuse treatment providers
• Workforce: Enhancing and sustaining a cadre of professional health service providers devoted to the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based treatments

Active Services Grants Portfolio (Download srbPortfolio709.pdf [24 KB])

Primary Branch Program Announcement(s)

• PA-07-119 Health Services Research on the Prevention and Treatment of Drug and Alcohol Abuse (R01) 12/8/2006 to 9/2/2008
• PA-06-308 Health Services Research on the Prevention and Treatment of Drug and Alcohol Abuse (R03) 3/31/2006 to 9/2/2008
• PA-06-307 Health Services Research on the Prevention and Treatment of Drug and Alcohol Abuse (R21) 3/31/2006 to 9/2/2008
• PA-07-122 Economics of Prevention and Treatment Services for Drug and Alcohol Abuse (R01) 12/8/2006 to 5/2/2008
• PA-06-320 Economics of Prevention and Treatment Services for Drug and Alcohol Abuse (R03) 4/5/2006 to 9/2/2008
• PA-06-319 Economics of Prevention and Treatment Services for Drug and Alcohol Abuse (R21) 4/5/2006 to 9/2/2008
• PA-06-497 Health Services Research on Practice Improvement Utilizing Community Treatment Programs within the National Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network (CTN) (R03) 07/26/2006 to 09/02/2009
• PA-06-496 Health Services Research on Practice Improvement Utilizing Community Treatment Programs within the National Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network (CTN) (R21) 07/26/2006 to 09/02/2009
• PA-06-495 Health Services Research on Practice Improvement Utilizing Community Treatment Programs within the National Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network (CTN) (R01) 07/26/2006 to 09/02/2009

Program Areas/Initiatives

The US Federal Government supports roughly 62 percent of all substance abuse treatment and prevention services nationwide. NIDA-sponsored health services research has a crucial role in ensuring that these publicly-supported drug abuse prevention and treatment services are as readily available, effective, and efficient as possible.

The 2004 Blue Ribbon Task Force on Health Services Research [pdf 1.1 MB] identified a need for improved health services research across NIH. To improve current treatment practices, research must elucidate the organizational, management, workforce, financing, and policy factors that determine the availability, effectiveness, and efficiency of addiction prevention, treatment, and related health services.

Health services research projects must acknowledge the chronic relapsing nature of drug addiction while addressing:

• The optimal, intensity, pace, duration, and timing of interventions;
• The essential elements and processes for achieving and sustaining delivery of high quality prevention, treatment, and related health services;
• Policies and practices that influence the economics of service delivery, including financing, cost-effectiveness, and cost benefit;
• The development of research infrastructure and methods to improve the pace and quality of health services research and its timely diffusion into practice.
• The unique service needs of patients due to age, gender, mental, social, and medical condition including risk of infection.