Researchers Awarded $7.8 million to Conduct Three Behavioral Health Studies

The Center for Social Work Research has received a combined total of $7.8 million in three federally funded grants awarded in fall 2008.

Dr. Mary Velasquez, center director and associate dean for research in the School of Social Work, is principal investigator for "Project Choices+: A Preconception Approach to Reducing Alcohol & Tobacco-exposed Pregnancy," a $1.6 million study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Kirk von Sternberg is co-principal investigator. Drs. Thomas Bohman, Nanette Stephens and Richard Spence will serve as co-investigators. This randomized controlled study will determine the efficacy of a preconception intervention to reduce prenatal exposure to alcohol and tobacco. Identifying and intervening with women before they become pregnant is an important strategy for reducing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and tobacco-exposed pregnancies. The study will be conducted in two hospitals and eleven community health clinics of Harris County (TX) Hospital District. The results will inform and advance future efforts in the service of promoting healthy prenatal behavior and reducing the prevalence of alcohol and tobacco-exposed pregnancies.

This new study builds upon Velasquez' previous CDC-funded project, "Project Choices: A Randomized Clinical Trial for Prevention of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Among High-Risk Women," a four-year study completed in 2004. Velasquez and von Sternberg recently received CDC's prestigious Charles C. Shepard Science Award for the publication of those findings in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Two projects focused on the use of screening and brief intervention (SBI) with injured patients in trauma settings have been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Dr. Mary Velasquez and Research Associate Professor Dr. Craig Field are principal investigators for the project, "Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment for Drug Abuse in the Trauma Setting." This $3.59 million study will increase the knowledge base regarding the effectiveness of brief screening and intervention among injured patients with drug use problems in trauma centers and other medical settings, thus leading to reduced injury and related health outcomes associated with drug use. This research is being conducted in the trauma unit at the University Medical Center at Brackenridge. SSW co-investigators include Drs. Kirk von Sternberg, Richard Spence and Nanette Stephens. Dr. Carlos Brown, trauma medical director, will serve as co-investigator at UMC Brackenridge.

Dr. Craig Field, a recent addition to our SSW research faculty, recently moved here from UT-Southwestern Medical School, bringing with him a $2.58 million, five-year study entitled "Multidisciplinary Approach to Reduce Injury & Alcohol Use." This study involves a systematic evaluation of the differential effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions with injured patients at various stages of behavioral change. Research is being conducted in trauma units at Baylor University Medical Center, Methodist Hospital of Dallas, and UMC Brackenridge. This study will consolidate and expand current understanding regarding the utility of various brief intervention strategies with injured patients and will significantly enhance the clinical effectiveness and ability to generalize current findings.