Brandeis, Harvard, Boston University to Co-Sponsor Conference

The Institute for Behavioral Health, Brandeis University; the School of Public Health, Boston University; and the Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, are co-sponsors of the upcoming 2008 Addiction Health Services Research conference (AHSR 2008).

The conference will convene at the Hyatt Harborside, Boston, Massachusetts on October 20-22. AHSR welcomes researchers, practitioners, and policymakers interested in health services research as it relates to drug and alcohol dependence, as well as the intersection with mental health and other behavioral healthcare issues.

The theme for this year’s conference is Advancing the Quality Agenda. The conference will explore the use of addiction health services research to advance the quality agenda by:

• Identifying Quality - evidence and measurement
• Accessing Quality - consumers, providers, other stakeholders
• Implementing Quality - practice, evaluation, outcomes
• Ensuring Quality - purchasing, monitoring, incentives, management, organization

The theme encompasses a wide range of topics to meet the needs of stakeholders from different disciplines. Through plenary speakers, symposia, and poster sessions, AHSR provides opportunities to share our research, enhance opportunities to move research into practice, promote discussion among various stakeholders, and network with colleagues.

This year students and new investigators will have an opportunity to meet and learn from representatives from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in a pre-conference Grantsmanship Workshop. The workshop will be held at the conference hotel Monday afternoon. Participants will learn about NIH grants and the review process, get tips from NIH staff and senior researchers, and have the opportunity to discuss concept papers with NIH staff.

Other conference details:

• NIDA and NIAAA will provide a limited number of travel awards for junior investigators.
• Abstracts are now being solicited. Visit the conference website at http://ahsr2008.brandeis.edu/content/abstracts.html for details on presenting at AHSR2008. Abstract submission is expected to close on May 15.
• Conference registration will begin May 1 through October 6, 2008.
• A block of rooms has been reserved at the Hyatt Harborside. To obtain conference pricing, reservations must be made directly through the hotel’s reservation department prior to September 20, 2008. Please refer to Addiction Health Services Research (AHSR) conference when making your reservation.
• Parking is available at the Hyatt Harborside parking lot.
• A preliminary agenda is now available on the conference website at http://ahsr2008.brandeis.edu/content/agenda.html.