NIDA Home > Researchers and Health Professionals > Past Meetings Summaries | |
Disasters and Substance Abuse |
|
Bethesda North Marriott Hotel Conference Center
NIDA Organizers: Meeting Purpose:
Brief Discussion of Meeting Outcome:Meeting participants were asked to address one of three broad areas of research. (1) Epidemiology and etiology of substance abuse, mental illness, and other health consequences associated with disasters focused on current data on substance abuse patterns and trends among adults and adolescents affected by hurricanes or the terrorist attacks of September 11. The panel discussed the importance of such concepts as correlation and causality, and interactions between pre- and post-disaster risk behaviors. They also examined the potential of a disaster or trauma situation to serve as an opportunity, from a service delivery perspective, to engage individuals who otherwise may have been unwilling to enter drug treatment. (2) Prevention, crisis intervention, and service delivery needs of drug abusers described the different types of efforts made to provide services and interventions in the aftermath of natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Discussions that followed highlighted the importance of preparedness research to better prescribe interventions to meet the immediate service needs of substance abuse populations exposed to a trauma as well as those that change over time, underscoring how populations affected by disasters often need multiple and sequential types of care. (3) New strategies for effectively bridging research to practice focused on the best ways of implementing evidence-based practices in disaster situations. These included discussions of findings on different types of care for individuals in the immediate aftermath of a disaster and over time during the recovery process; the potential of community-based interventions at different time points following a disaster; and the importance of an ongoing synthesis of the science to optimize preparedness, clinical care, and public health services in response to future disaster situations. General Discussion - The meeting concluded with a broad discussion of the most pressing questions facing researchers and treatment providers working with substance abuse populations affected by a disaster. Some of the questions raised were:
Participant list (PDF Format, 172kb), (Word Format, 196kb) |
|
NIDA Home | Site Map | Search | FAQs | Accessibility | Privacy | FOIA (NIH) | Employment
|