Search the Library

Evidence-based prevention interventions for young people have a shelf-life. When programs are revised and updated, it is unclear how much of the evidence carries over into the new edition. This presentation will review some of the challenges and opportunities associated with the recently released second edition of kiR as a case study. The updated version of kiR covers new types of drugs (e.g., vaping) and addresses co-occurring externalizing conditions (several forms of violence involvement). The original evidence was
gathered in Arizona, but kiR is being used nationwide and globally through culturally adapted versions. Additional research is needed to assess moderation of kiR program’s effects based on key participant characteristics and variations in implementation contexts across the US. The presentation will conclude by
exploring the possibility of assessing the feasibility and acceptability of the new version of kiR from multiple stakeholder viewpoints and to identify barriers and facilitators to its adoption and sustainment.

Culturally and contextually grounded preventive interventions can address upstream risk and protective factors to improve equity, but only if they are implemented in systems that serve underrepresented groups. This presentation from Cady Berkel, PhD (Arizona State University) shared findings a program of community based research conducted in partnership with multiple settings (e.g., pediatric primary care, family courts, corrections) to advance equitable access to evidence-based substance use prevention for adolescents and families. Dr. Berkel also discussed implementation science frameworks and designs to incorporate equity and accelerate the translation of research into practice.

This presentation from Dr. Gregory Aarons, PhD, of UC San Diego, focused on leadership, organizational, and team effectiveness implementation strategies. The design and results from multiple randomized leadership and organizational development trials were presented, as well as new emerging work on team effectiveness implementation approaches from the IN STEP Children’s Mental Health Research Center.

This presentation delved into implications of basic emotion science for innovative, mechanistic research on substance use prevention, treatment, and harm reduction. Informed by psychology, neuroscience, and addiction science, Dr. Shiota highlighted distinct research questions revealed through this lens, as well as opportunities for intervention.

Incidence, prevalence, and persistence of substance use differ by
generation and by substance. Understanding how each generation
uses alcohol and other drugs, why, and how health is implicated is
critical for public health. The presentation will overview what we
know about current trends in substance use, how rates are organized by age, period, and cohort, and how these trends are shaping public
health overall.

This presentation highlights the role of primary care setting as a conduit for evidence-based intervention access for families. In addition, attention will be given the need to focus on system level interventions to reduce the need for families and youth to be “resilient.”

Dr. Kaliamurthy’s presentation examines a case involving an adolescent who sought treatment within a pediatric health care system for fentanyl use. The focus is on the challenges identified in delivering care to adolescents with opioid use disorder. He also highlights barriers to treatment that must be overcome to deliver the minimum necessary care to ensure engagement in medication treatment for opioid use disorder and reducing overdose risk.

Dr. Graham’s presentation describes the development of the first
vaping cessation intervention for adolescents and young adults,
presents the results of two randomized clinical trials evaluating the
effectiveness of the program, and discusses ongoing work to disseminate the program to young people across the U.S.

In their complementary presentations, Drs. Hammond and Hinckley discuss the association between cannabis use and suicide-related outcomes among youth and young adults. Dr. Hammond presents findings from a study that used 20 years of national mortality data to examine the impact of medical and recreational cannabis legalization on suicide-related mortality among US 12-to-25-year-olds, focusing on variations by age, sex, race, and ethnicity. These findings are discussed within the context of current medical literature on cannabis policy effects and health disparities, with an emphasis on mechanisms, vulnerable
subgroups, and legislative reform. Dr. Hinckley presents data from a secondary analysis of the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement, involving youth aged 13-18. This study explores the association between cannabis use, major depressive disorder, and suicidal behavior. Findings are considered within existing literature to further understand how cannabis use and depression together may increase suicide risk among youth.

The objectives of this talk include 1) Describe the unique risk and protective factors
for substance use among Black adolescents; 2) Examine the evidence for culturally sensitive interventions for substance use prevention among Black adolescents; and
3) Identify opportunities for culturally tailored digital interventions for substance
use prevention among Black adolescents with a specific focus on family-based
interventions.

Dr. Ken Carpenter’s more recent community-based work has focused on developing resources that can be utilized by parent peer support networks to help bring evidence-informed concepts and skills to families impacted by substance use problems. He will present on pilot programs directed towards engaging families outside of the clinical service framework. The discussion will include lessons learned from these projects, continued efforts to grow a parent-to-parent support community, and the continued challenges that come along with supporting parent-to-parent efforts to promote evidence informed concepts and strategies in the context of community-based groups.

Presenter: Katherine Elkington, PhD, Associate Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry), Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute

Dr. Elkington describes multi-level barriers to treatment for justice-involved youth, explores the integrated use of the Behavioral Health Care Cascade and ecological theory to conceptualize points of intervention, and describes initial findings from two different interventions that target various aspects of the justice, behavioral health, and family/youth-systems to improve treatment
access.

Presenter: Elizabeth Barnert, MD, MPH, MS, Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles

The objectives of Dr. Barnert’s talk are to 1) Describe the health needs, service utilization, and predictors of successful linkages to care for transition aged youth (TAY) participating in a community health worker based reentry intervention; 2) Explore clients’ perspectives about their health and social experiences during reentry, so as to inform intervention approaches; and 3) Discuss a model intervention approach tailored for TAY undergoing reentry to address substance misuse, recidivism, and related health and social outcomes.

Presented by: Marina Toulu-Shams, PhD, Professor, Dept of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute of Infant, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dept of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco

Dr. Marina Tolou-Shams, trained as a pediatric and forensic psychologist, is a clinician-scientist. She leads the UCSF Juvenile Justice Behavioral Health lab whose mission is to improve behavioral health outcomes for youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice, child welfare, and foster care systems (https://jjbh.org/). Her NIH-funded research focuses on improving youths’ physical, mental, and emotional health, reducing drug and alcohol use, reducing HIV/STI risk behaviors, and increasing access to evidence-based care with particular emphasis on leveraging technology to achieve these outcomes. One study is a pilot trial of SMS text-messaging platform to engage court-involved youth in substance use or dual diagnosis treatment services. A second developmental study takes a mixed-methods, multi-informant participatory research approach to developing and testing a Foster Care Family Navigator model to improve youth mental health outcomes.

The objectives of the presentation are to:

1. understand the substance use and mental health intervention needs of justice-involved youth;
2. identify barriers to behavioral health care access and engagement; and,
3. discuss ways that technology may hold promise for improving justice-involved youth’s behavioral health and legal outcomes.

This presentation describes a program of research focused on increasing the uptake of effective services for youth with or at risk of substance use disorders. The presentation introduces both patient-focused dissemination (e.g., technology-assisted interventions, direct-to-consumer marketing) and provider- and organization-focused (e.g., multi-level implementation strategy) strategies. Fundamentals of dissemination and implementation science, as well as priorities for future research, are also discussed.

Download slides