Urban American Indian Practice Improvement Collaborative

The Urban American Indian Practice Improvement Collaborative (UAIPIC) is one of 11 centers nationwide devoted to bridging the gap between research and practice in the field of substance abuse. Established in 1999 through a grant from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, the UAIPIC seeks to improve clinical outcomes in alcohol and substance abuse treatment programs through the use of culturally appropriate, evidence-based practices.

The project partners urban, community-based treatment agencies and health care programs targeting Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest region with a chemical dependency research program at Oregon Health & Science University headed by a Cherokee psychiatrist, R. Dale Walker, M.D.

The project is currently in the final year of a three-year implementation phase. Current activities include:

• Training and technical assistance to selected substance abuse treatment providers. Current training focuses on cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques.

• Cultural adaptation of therapy techniques for effective work with American Indian patients.

• Monthly teleconference case consultations between counselors at treatment agencies.

• Cross-site, posttraining booster sessions via teleconference.

• Knowledge application evaluation studies.

• Quarterly Stakeholders' and Executive Committee meetings.

For more information on the project, please call Laura Loudon at the Center for American Indian Health, Education and Research at OHSU at 503 494-8112.

This grant is funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Content is solely the responsibility of the authors, and does not necessarily represent the official views of the agency.

Any questions, comments or suggestions pertaining to this site
may be directed to loudonl@ohsu.edu.

Site last updated on March 31, 2003.