The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Doctoral Training Fellowship in Alcohol-Related Health Services Research (NIAAA)

The NIAAA Fellowship Program in Alcohol-Related Health Services Research is a three-year, full time Ph.D. program offered within Heller's Schneider Institutes for Health Policy (SIHP). The focus of the program is the study of the impact of the organization, financing, and management of alcohol prevention and treatment services on quality, cost, access to, and outcomes of care. The primary objective is the focused and rigorous preparation of doctoral students for research careers in universities, governmental agencies, or other research settings devoted to alcohol-related services research. The program is funded by the NIAAA within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It builds on the multidisciplinary social science education offered at The Heller School and research opportunities available through the Institute for Behavioral Health in SIHP, as well as collaboration with Brown University's Center on lcohol and Addiction Studies. In addition to offering a core curriculum, which emphasizes conceptual models and research skills, the program emphasizes the social context for alcohol treatment and prevention services, and the relationship of these services to behavioral health, general health care delivery, and other service systems.

The NIAAA Fellowship Program trains social scientists and human service professionals to

• Apply quantitative methods of scientific inquiry to the study of prevention and treatment services for alcohol-related problems.
• Assume leadership positions in applied research activities in the field of alcohol-related services.
• Participate in the formation and analysis of programs and policies dealing with alcohol abuse and alcoholism.

Through a sequenced plan of training, each student

• Acquires specialized substantive knowledge in the field of alcohol-related problems in order to understand the historical and contemporary views on etiology, treatment and prevention.
• Conducts applied social science research in settings focused on the social and policy issues of prevention and treatment services for alcohol problems.
• Learns the perspectives that sociologists, economists, and political scientists bring to contemporary social policy issues affecting persons with alcohol problems, their families, their employers, society more generally, and the service systems that support them.
• Gains an understanding of the interrelationships between alcohol services research and the fields of prevention, primary care, treatment and rehabilitation, mental health, long term care, educations, and the criminal justice system.
• Begins to develop a cross-cultural understanding of alcohol abuse and alcoholism as a national and international problem.

Mentoring by active health services researchers trained in the social science disciplines is emphasized early and throughout the training process. Trainee exposure to research projects focuses trainees on current issues in alcohol abuse prevention, policy, and treatment, and provides immediate opportunities to apply the skills, methods, and theories being learned through their coursework.

Key Areas of Study

The NIAAA Fellowship Program is designed to produce researchers with expertise in state-of-the-art concepts and research methods in health and behavioral health services research and policy analysis with a focus on alcohol abuse and alcoholism. The curriculum and faculty research expertise address the following key areas.

• Organization and management
• Finance and reimbursement
• Outcomes and quality of care
• Cost and utilization
• Cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis

Curriculum Requirements and Research Opportunities

The NIAAA training program in alcohol-related health services research is sequenced to provide students with broad substantive knowledge regarding the evolution of and current issues in major policy areas, advanced training in the principles of research design and statistical reasoning, experience in the conduct of applied research, and directed study through the dissertation on a topic in the area of alcohol-related prevention and treatment services. It is embedded in the health and behavioral health concentration. The small size of the NIAAA training program ensures that each trainee will receive personal attention and guidance from faculty and mentors throughout their academic education.

Students must complete 15 semester courses. In addition, each doctoral candidate must successfully complete an integrative comprehensive paper and obtain approval of a dissertation by a four-person committee. The dissertation must be on a topic relevant to the field of alcohol-related health services research and must use quantitative methods.

Trainees are strongly encouraged to participate in an existing research project during their training periods. All NIAAA trainees have opportunities to work with experienced researchers who are engaged in a wide variety of studies addressing alcohol-related services and policy concerns. At a minimum, each fellow is expected to be involved in an existing research project for approximately 8 hours per week for one full semester. This may take place at Brandeis or at an outside research setting. This experience will prepare students to undertake an independent research project, as required for the dissertation.

Curriculum requirements are as follows

Core Courses in Social Policy Analysis (four required)

1. Economic Theory and Social Policy - HS372b
2. Choice of three of the following:
   • Theories of Social Policy, Social Justice and Social Change - HS300a or
     Historical and Contemporary Developments in Social Welfare - HS303a
   • Policy and Program Implementation - HS472b
   • Sociological Inquiry - HS322b
   • Organizational Theory and Behavior - HS526a
   • Inequalities, Social Policy and Population Groups - HS529a

Research Methods and Statistics Courses (five required)

1. Research Methods - HS401b
2. Applied Regression Analysis - HS404b
3. Applied Econometrics - HS405a
4. Applied Research Seminar - Quantitative Research -HS410b
5. Choice of one of the following:
    
   
   • Advanced Econometrics - HS409b
   • Survey Research Methods -HS407b
   • Qualitative Research - HS403b
   • Evaluation Research - HS408a

Courses in Health and Behavioral Health

      Required:

1. Issues in National Health Policy - HS513a
2. Substance Use and Societal Consequences - HS412b
3. Issues in Substance Abuse Treatment - HS586a

      Recommended:

• Health Economics - HS519a
• Payment and Financing of Health Care - HS520a
• Political and Organizational Analysis in Health Policy - HS521a
• Economics of Behavioral Health - HS572a

Seminars/Modules

      Required:

1. Weekly Substance Abuse Research Seminar - HS600c-05 (six semesters)
2. Ethical Issues in Social Science Research - HS414f (1/2 semester)

      Recommended:

• SAS Advanced Module - HS415f
• Cost Effectiveness Analysis Advanced Module - HS422f
• Quality & Performance Measurement in Healthcare - HS505f
• Seminars at Brown University's Center on Alcohol and Addiction