C-CART: Culturally Centered Addictions Research Training

PROJECT SUMMARY
Despite decades of research and advancement in health care, there are limited doctoral 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 underserved American Indian (AI), Hispanic, and rural populations who
face a number of health disparities.1-6 Racial and ethnic minorities and rural residents often have high rates of
SU and SUDs and experience high rates of poor health outcomes and premature mortality due, in part, to
difficulty accessing evidence-based comprehensive and culturally relevant care.7 Given the need to equip
clinicians and researchers with research skills in SU and SUD interventions and outcomes in health and
behavioral health care settings, our proposed research training program will prepare doctoral-level health
professionals to conduct culturally-centered research to address SU and SUDs in practice settings. With a shift
towards telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for culturally relevant training among health care
professionals is more urgent now than ever. The overall goal of the proposed research and training program,
Culturally Centered Addictions Research Training (C-CART), is to educate clinicians, providers, and doctoral
students in health professions (occupational therapy [OT], physical therapy [PT], counseling, school, & clinical
psychology) in research skills that include culturally-centered practices, related to SU and SUDs which can be
applied in interprofessional practice and diverse settings. The Specific Aims of this project are: Aim 1: Develop
and implement an interprofessional advanced graduate certificate in culturally-centered SU and SUD research
for doctoral students in: a) clinical, counseling, and school psychology, b) OT, c) PT, and d) interdisciplinary
health, as well as doctoral-trained, practicing clinicians in the community; Aim 2: Foster interprofessional and
collaborative teamwork among Scholars from 5 doctoral programs and the students who are clinical care
providers as they develop culturally-centered research projects focused on addressing and curtailing SU and
SUDs among AI, Hispanic, and rural populations being served in health and behavioral health care settings;
Aim 3: Evaluate the effectiveness of the training program through formative and summative evaluation of
learning outcomes, longitudinal tracking of Scholar careers, and documentation of collaborative research
efforts and products developed by students, faculty, and mentors; and 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.

Grant Number: 5R25DA053805-05
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Julie Baldwin