3-C INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT INC — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase II: R44

Description

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant Over the past several decades a large number of evidence based treatment programs for alcohol tobacco and other drug ATOD use in youth have been rigorously tested and shown to be efficacious Nevertheless evidence based ATOD programs EBPs are rarely adopted in everyday practice are seldom implemented with strong fidelity and often fail to be sustained over time in their intended service settings A growing body of literature demonstrates implementation quality is directly related to the likelihood an EBP will be embedded into everyday practice and achieve its intended treatment outcomes NIDAandapos s Strategic Plan specifically identifies the need for effective methods to help close the gap between development of ATOD EBPs and their adoption and long term sustainability in service settings This Phase II SBIR project will complete research and development of Centervention ATOD a customizable suite of online tools specifically designed to support quality implementation and sustainability of any ATOD EBP within andquot real worldandquot service settings During Phase I we developed the Centervention ATOD prototype with iterative input from key stakeholders applied this technology infrastructure to an evidence based ATOD prevention program and evaluated the feasibility usability and value of the prototype and proposed scalable product Stakeholders voiced strong support for continued research and development and suggested broadening the productandapos s scope to include intervention focused programs as well as examining cost effectiveness outcomes This Phase II SBIR project will accomplish three specific aims develop and expand Centervention ATOD prototype components to enhance usability and utility for service settings and integrate a second evidence based ATOD program into the technology infrastructure The utility and usability of Centervention ATOD for this new EBP will be assessed and recommended modifications incorporated prior to pilot testing evaluate through pilot testing whether Centervention ATOD confers additive benefits in provider implementation proficiency and efficacy quality of implementation delivery and EBP outcomes compared to traditional implementation methods and in collaboration with our expert consultant conduct a formal cost effectiveness analysis in order to evaluate monetary and non monetary costs and benefits of implementing EBPs using Centervention ATOD No other comparable product exists that is specifically designed to help ATOD treatment facilities implement and sustain EBPs Centervention ATOD will leverage C Instituteandapos s technological expertise and experience to create a flexible scalable technology infrastructure applicable to ATOD EBPs on a broad scale decreasing costs to service providers enhancing implementation quality and increasing program sustainability thereby offering the potential for significant societal benefits and addressing a large commercial market PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Substance use among adolescents is a major public health problem with devastating personal familial and societal costs and is the best predictor of substance abuse in adulthood In federal state and local governments spent a combined $ billion on the direct and indirect costs associated with addiction Even though research has demonstrated substance users receiving evidence based treatment programs EBPs to be nearly times more likely to achieve clinically significant post treatment abstinence compared to those receiving non evidence based treatment EBPs are rarely adopted and implemented with strong adherence to the original design and often fail to be sustained over time Centervention ATOD will support quality implementation and sustainability of ATOD EBPs within real world service settings on a broad scale thereby offering the potential for significant societal benefits