A DISCUSSION OF THE CONCEPT OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OF RESEARCH-BASED DRUG “ABUSE” PREVENTION AND TREATMENT INTERVENTIONS*

Abstract

With the availability of both drug user prevention and treatment interventions that have demonstrated effectiveness under rigorous experimental design, new avenues of research have opened up to bring these strategies to scale. Of major importance is adapting evidence-based prevention and treatment programs to community specifications without diluting their power. A number of researchers have examined this issue from a variety of perspectives. This brief discussion is an attempt to bring those perspectives together within a conceptual framework that integrates them around research issues and questions. Several theoretical perspectives that have not been brought into the technology transfer discussion are mentioned, others need to be reviewed for their potential to guide further research in this area.

• Technology transfer
• Dissemination
• Diffusion
• Replication

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Zili Sloboda

Zili Sloboda, Sc.D., is Professor of Sociology and Senior Research Associate at the Center for Health and Social Policy at the University of Akron in Ohio. She has worked in the field of public health conducting epidemiologic studies and evaluations of both prevention and treatment interventions. She has published on a number of health issues including drug use, geriatrics, cancers, and HIV/AIDS. Between 1991 and 1998, Dr. Sloboda served as the Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. During that time she has instrumental in organizing the Society for Prevention Research. Her current research focuses on the delivery of effective drug use prevention programming within the community and on the epidemiology of drug use.

Sam Schildhaus

Sam Schildhaus, Ph.D., Political Science/Public Policy, is Senior Research Scientist for the National Opinion Research Center at The University of Chicago in the Washington, DC office. Prior to joining the National Opinion Research Center, he served as Senior Policy Analyst at the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Executive Office of the President. His areas of interest include evaluation, substance use treatment and health services research, the relationships between program and individual-level variables for studies of program outcomes and public policy.