ICUDDR Winter newsletter 2020

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Winter Newsletter 2020

ICUDDR is proud to announce the launch of a new program called the International Training and Technical Assistance Centers Network (ITTC).

The ITTC network is built on the United States model of Addiction Technology Transfer Centers (ATTC) https://attcnetwork.org/ whose role is to improve the quality of addiction treatment through training and technical assistance to individuals and organizations. The ITTCs agree to follow a technology transfer model that acknowledges that pre-service training alone is not enough to ensure quality service delivery for prevention or treatment of substance use disorders. The role of the ITTC is to make research findings useful to providers, to train people on evidence-based medications and practices, and to support organizations to adopt new practices. There is an in-depth explanation of the technology transfer model here: https://attcnetwork.org/centers/global-attc/attc-network-technology-transfer-model.

The ITTCs are located in universities that already have drug demand reduction education programs and extend the work of the program from the academic setting to the community. We are starting with five countries that have been funded by INL: South Africa, Ukraine, Vietnam, Colombia and Peru. We are also in discussions with organizations in several other countries that want to join the network using their own funding. We expect to have no more than 10 ITTCs in 2021, but will expand the opportunity to many more universities in the following year.

ITTC Network members will be part of an international community of universities that are leaders in their countries in educating the drug demand reduction workforce. This is an opportunity for ICUDDR members that have established programs to further their community engagement goals and work with their colleagues across the globe to improve the quality of service delivery by ensuring that providers, both individuals and organizations, have the most up to date knowledge and skills.

Spring 2021 Writing Workshops

In 2019-2020, ICUDDR launched a collaborative effort to support increased publication from authors in low and middle-income countries. ISAJE held a well-attended workshop at the ICUDDR conference in Cusco, Peru in July 2019, and developed a learning collaborative model with 10 learners this past Spring, 2020. Over the course of four months, all participants had papers reviewed by the group and four were either accepted or under revise and resubmit editorial processes at the end of the four-month collaborative experience.

This Spring 2021, ICUDDR and ISAJE will host another two new learning collaboratives. These collaboratives will use the Publishing Addiction Science materials developed by ISAJE and will be facilitated by ISAJE member editors. Our target audience for these collaboratives is faculty. We are using a train the trainer model with the hope that faculty will be able to use the content in their respective settings with their students. Groups will meet via Zoom video conferencing twice per month for four months. Participants are expected to write and share a paper for review and critique, and to read and critique one other paper per session. The consultant facilitator will provide brief didactic presentations on topics that are identified through reading the draft papers or common issues that arise in papers by early stage investigators or by investigators in low income countries. They will also read and comment on the paper submitted each week for review and discussion. Participants will also be asked to provide feedback on the learning materials and explain how they would adapt them for use with their own students and mentees.

Each group is limited to 10 participants. To apply, please send an e-mail application to Jessica Keene at keenej@icuddr.org that includes an abstract or draft paper. We look forward to receiving your applications!

Call for consultants!

Do you have skills or knowledge you would be willing to share with other ICUDDR members? ICUDDR is looking to create a database of consultants and their areas of expertise to facilitate knowledge sharing among members. If you are interested in becoming an ICUDDR subject matter consultant, please send an e-mail to Jessica Keene at keenej@icuddr.org that includes your name, university/college/organization, country, email address, time zone, language(s) spoken, and topics of expertise.

ICUDDR Providing Walk-Through and Consultation in Uganda

A large and dedicated group of faculty in Uganda have enrolled in a walk-through and consultation of the Universal Treatment Curriculum (UTC) with ICUDDR. The kickoff meeting was held November 23rd with participants from Uganda Christian University, Makerere University, Kyambogo University, and others. The walk-through is scheduled to last until February. Our thanks to Tumuhirwe Ezra Napoleon for his great work coordinating this effort.

Uganda Walk-Through and Consultation Kickoff Meeting, November 2020

ICUDDR Webinar Info

"Policy Change to Support Development of Academic Program in Addiction Studies &
Enhance Addiction Prevention and Treatment Services"
November 30th 11am Malaysia / 10 PM EST Nov 29th
Presenters: Zall Kepli Md Rejab, Ph.D & Saddiqua Aishaa

Register HERE.

If you missed Dr. Jones' webinar,
"Building Strength and Resilience during the COVID 19 Pandemic:
A Focus on Parents with Substance Use"
you can watch the recording on our YouTube page.