Community-Centered Addictions Research Training (C-CART) - PROJECT SUMMARY Despite decades of research and advancement in health care, there are few graduate educational programs that specifically boost the research training for the workforce in the area of substance use (SU) and substance use disorders (SUDs), particularly with urban, rural, and under-resourced populations who face a number of health issues and often have high rates of SU/SUDs and poor health outcomes and premature mortality due, in part, to difficulty accessing evidence-based comprehensive and community relevant care. Given the need to equip clinicians and researchers with research skills in SU/SUD interventions and improve outcomes in health care settings, our proposed research training program will prepare graduate level health professionals to conduct community-centered research to address SU/SUDs in practice settings. The overall goal of the proposed renewal application and training program (C-CART), is to educate clinicians and graduate students in the health professions (occupational therapy [OT], physical therapy [PT], nursing, counseling, school, & clinical psychology, social work, population health, and interdisciplinary health) in research skills and implementation science that include community-centered practices related to SU/SUDs to be applied in interprofessional practice settings. The Specific Aims of the project are: Aim 1: Refine and implement an interprofessional advanced graduate certificate in community-centered SU/SUD implementation science for doctoral students in: a) clinical, counseling, and school psychology, b) OT, c) PT, d) Interdisciplinary health, e) Social work, f) Population health, and g) nursing programs, as well as practicing master’s or doctoral-trained clinicians in the community. The program builds upon the foundational research coursework that Scholars receive in their respective doctoral programs. Aim 2: Foster interprofessional and collaborative teamwork among the Scholars from the different doctoral programs and Scholars who are clinical care providers as they develop community- centered research projects focused on addressing and curtailing SU/SUDs among urban and rural populations being served in health, behavioral health, and telehealth care settings. Students will work with research mentors at NAU and ASU as they conceptualize and implement their own research projects. Aim 3: Evaluate the effectiveness of the training program through formative and summative evaluation of learning outcomes, longitudinal tracking of Scholar careers (e.g., placement in clinical settings, pursuit of research-oriented careers, pursuit of research-based doctoral programs), and documentation of collaborative research efforts and products developed by students, faculty, and mentors. Aim 4: Disseminate research products through Scholar research presentations at an interprofessional conference, submission of peer-reviewed manuscripts related to program outcomes, completion of capstone research experiences that emerge from the program, and a website highlighting program achievements.
