Researchers from The Center for Rural Health Practice at the
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and a center at the University
of Pittsburgh have received a $900,000 grant to study the use of
alcohol among adolescents.
The grant, awarded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism, which is a unit of the National Institutes of
Health, will fund a three-year study being led by the Center at
Pitt-Bradford and the Pittsburgh Adolescent Alcohol Research Center
at Pitt-Oakland.
“This grant will help to support the establishment of the
Northwest Pennsylvania Adolescent Alcohol Research Cooperative,”
said Dr. Lorraine Ettaro, interim director of the Center for Rural
Health Practice and co-principle investigator on the grant. “The
goal of the cooperative is to develop the capacity of primary
health care systems in the region to conduct research addressing
underage drinking.”
Primary care providers play a vital role in identifying,
intervening and referring underage drinkers to treatment, Ettaro
explained, but only a small proportion of the providers
consistently engage in routine screening, intervention and
referrals for adolescents using alcohol. She said that prior
research has identified various barriers to providers’ involvement
in routine substance use screening, education and referrals of
adolescents.
In rural areas, additional factors may further impede
identification, treatment and referral for adolescent alcohol use,
she said.
Ettaro indicated that research is needed to develop a better
understanding of these barriers and novel approaches for addressing
them.
“With the funding received for this study, we will be able to
examine these important issues and develop methods to support
primary care practitioners serving rural areas in the
identification of adolescents who have problems with alcohol,” she
said.
Additionally, these federal grant monies will enable area rural
health care systems to assess the extent of underage drinking in
our region and develop the capacity for intervening with this
problem, Ettaro explained.
