J Flanzer 2006

Presentation to the National Association of Deans and Directors of School of Social Work February 16, 2006

Update on NIH Support of Social Work Research

Jerry Flanzer, Ph.D.Senior Health Science Administrator, NIDA

J Flanzer 2006

Talk Focus

• PhD and Non-PhD schools/departments• NIH Social Work activities• Selected Institute Priorities that should interest

social work• Where SW (especially non-research I schools)

should focus Research and Training• The SW PAs – what are “hot” ideas to consider• The Politics of Research

J Flanzer 2006

NIH Needs YOU (SW)

• Training and Research Money can be found elsewhere (fungible)=NIH is one big pot; not necessarily the best pot for your needs.

• Public health care/interventions cannot be implemented without social work

• ????? where are you – particularly those schools who are heavily connected to the field

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NIH Website

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Following the Success of-

• IASWR’s lobbying• NIMH’s SW Center/Infrastructure

Grants• NIDA’s SW Initiative, including

Infrastructure Grants• NIAAA’s curriculum and training• (and new activity by NIA)

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Background

• Senate Report 107-216The Committee urges the NIH to develop a social work research plan that outlines research priorities, as well as a research agenda, across NIH Institutes and Centers to be reported to the Committee by April 1, 2003."

• OBSSR’s Role -• Coordination• Trans-NIH Working Group: Develop NIH PLAN

(Recommendations) on OBSSR website

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Background:NIH SWR Working Group

• Jeffrey Evans, PhD, NICHD

• Jerry Flanzer, PhD, NIDA• Eleanor Hanna, PhD,

ORWH• Martha Hare, PhD, NINR• Suzanne Heurtin-Roberts,

PhD, MSW, NCI• Denise Juliano-Bult, MSW,

NIMH

• Peter Kaufman, PhD, NHLBI

• Margaret Murray, MSW, NIAAA

• G. Stephane Philogene, PhD, OBSSR (Chair)

• Sidney Stahl, PhD, NIA• Nicole Vennell, MSW, NCI

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Notice HHS/NIH Job Opportunities

• Program officers• IPAs (sabbaticals)• Contracts for special research

purposes

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Recommendations

• Social Work Research

• Create a standing working group ◄• Expand outreach to encourage grant

applications on studies of SW practice and concepts☺☺

• Propose a new PA: Developmental Research on Social Work Practice and Concepts in Health ◄

• Competitive Supplement for SW Research ?

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Supplements

• Administrative (do you know a NIH funded PI?)

• Competitive (adding social-behavioral/sw component)

• Health Disparities• Minority

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Recommendations

Research Infrastructure/Training

• Develop and Implement an NIH Summer Institute on Social Work Research• FY 2004—Focus on Qualitative, and Mixed

Method• FY 2005—Focus on Intervention Research

Method• FY 2006 – Focus on Early Stage Research

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Recommendations

Information Dissemination and Community Outreach

• Meeting with NADD of Schools of SW

• Explore the Possibility of a Conference on Advancing the SWR Agenda

• Trans-NIH Conference Showcasing SWR Results

• Coordinated Outreach to Universities

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Implementation Update

Progress to date –in review

• Establishment of the WG as a permanent body (May 03)• Pre-Conference Institutes at SSWR• NADD Meetings (Feb 27 & Oct 7)• Regional Workshop at Catholic University (June 04)• NIH Summer Institute: Design and Conduct of Qualitative

and Mixed-Method Research in Social Work and other Health Professions

• The New PAs for Social Work Practice

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Current/Future Funding Opportunities

OBSSR (FY 2005)• RFA on Strengthening Behavioral and Social

Science in Medical Schools • PAR on Community Participation in Research

•TA Conference Call on Jan 28• PA on Research on Mind-Body Interactions and

Health • PA on Social and Cultural Dimensions of

Health

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Current/Future Funding Opportunities

OBSSR (FY 2004)• Understanding and Promoting Health

Literacy PAR•R01 and R03

• Methodology and Measurement in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (3/10/5)

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Current/Future Funding Opportunities

Co-Sponsor• Health Promotion Among Racial and Ethnic

Minority Males (8/6)• School-Based Interventions to Prevent

Obesity PA (11/07)• Site Specific Approaches to the Prevention or

Management of Pediatric Obesity (RFA in progress – applications due Jan 24)

• Research on the Economics of Diet, Activity, and Energy Balance PA (11/07)

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NIH Roadmap: Research Teams of the Future

RFAs• Interdisciplinary Health Research Training:

Behavior, Environment & Biology (2/11/5)

• Short Programs for Interdisciplinary Research Training (2/11/5)

PA• NIH Director’s Pioneer Award (3/1/5)

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Priority Areas for NIDA

• Prevention (Services) Research • Genetics• Development• Environment• Co-morbidity

• Treatment (Services) Interventions • New Targets & New Strategies

• HIV/AIDS Research

• Criminal Justice, Health Disparities, Prescription Drug Abuse

• Collaborations with Other NIH Institutes and Other Federal, State and Local Partners

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Priority Areas for NIDA

• Prevention Research (Children/Adolescents)• Genetics (Matthew Howard)• Development (Penny Trickett, Richard

Catalano and David Hawkins)• Environment (Deborah Padgett) • Co-morbidity (Arlene Stiffman, Mark Singer)

• Treatment Interventions • New Targets & New Strategies (Roger

Roffman, Constance Weisner)

• HIV/AIDS Research (Nabila El-Basel, Robert Battjes)

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Priority Areas for NIDA

• Criminal Justice (Carl Leukefeld), Health Disparities (Alverado Valdez), Prescription Drug Abuse , Homelessness (David Pollio), Primary Care (Marian Amodeo, Faith-Based (Richard Spence), Technology Transfer (Flavio Marsiglia)

• Collaborations with Other NIH Institutes and Other Federal, State and Local Partners (James Hall, David Biegal)

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Types of Mechanisms

• R– Research Awards• R01, R03, R34, R21

• K– Career Awards • K01, K02, K08, K23• F – Fellowships• F31, F32

• T- Training!!!!!!!• T32 (regional)• (R13- conference)

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IOM/NAS Reports

Responsible Research: A Systems Responsible Research: A Systems Approach to Protecting Research Approach to Protecting Research Participants (2003)Participants (2003)

Protecting Participants and Facilitating Protecting Participants and Facilitating Social and Behavioral Sciences Social and Behavioral Sciences Research (2003)Research (2003)

Ethical Conduct of Clinical Research Ethical Conduct of Clinical Research Involving Children (2004)Involving Children (2004)

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The SW PAs

• The ultimate goal of this program announcement is to encourage the development of empirical research on development of empirical research on social work practice, concepts and social work practice, concepts and theorytheory as these relate to the NIH public health goal of improving health outcomes for persons with medical and behavioral disorders and conditions.

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More on the SW – PAR03; R21; R01• The Office of Behavioral and Social

Sciences Research (OBSSR), via this program announcement (PA) encourages innovative, theory-driven empirical research on social work practice, concepts and theory as these relate to the NIH public health goal of improving health outcomes for persons with medical and behavioral disorders and conditions. 

•  

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More on the PAs

• Areas of interest include studies that characterize the usual and/or “best” practices of social workers and how these relate to health outcomes, studies establishing the efficacy and effectiveness of health-related interventions and services delivered by social workers, aspects of health-related social work services that are unique to specialty health care settings (e.g., clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, etc) and non-specialty health care settings (e.g., social service agencies, schools, jails and prisons, etc.), the nature and impact of routine prevention or clinical practice, and factors related to successful dissemination and implementation of social work services and interventions with proven effectiveness.

•  

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Social Work and the Politics of the Research Game

• Know and declare what is social work’s domain.

• Be multidiscipline- reach across professions, schools, agencies.

• Include others in the social work led projects ( bargaining to be included in theirs).

• Offer research sites (etc) something they need to enhance cooperation.

J Flanzer 2006

Social work Domains

• Human Service/Social welfare agencies.• Social Welfare Policy.• Social service adjunct services in host

agencies.• Social work practice (including clinical social

work, social group work, social work administration and community development and organization).

• Social work theory and concepts.

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Social Work Theory and Concepts• Schools/theories of social work practice.

(Socialization, psychosocial, functional, problem solving, remedial, reciprocal, behavioral)

Concepts (preferably within schools).Socialization: social role learning, social

adaptation, acculturation, normalizationFunctional: case management, use of

relationships and of authority.

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Social Work Secret Weapon• FIELD WORK

• Involving Students• Effectiveness of Teaching• Technology Transfer

• Adoption of evidence–based Practices (Agency motivation to adopt)

• Absorptive Capacity• Cost-Effectiveness• Real Work Clinical Trials

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* Secret #1…

… success requires Strategic Thinking

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Important Initial Decisions

Subject: Make sense in context of the:-Institute/Program-Science-University/school

Needs/Direction

• Scope: It’s a project, not an entire career.

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NIH Mission

• “…to acquire new knowledge to help prevent, detect, diagnose & treat disease and disability.”

To improve public health/clinical outcomes.

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Assess State-of-the Science• CRISP - http://crisp.cit.nih.gov/• What credible tools are available?

• Instruments, interventions, etc.• What interim steps are necessary?

• Validity, reliability, efficacy/effectiveness, implementation, etc.

• Peer Reviewed Literature• Current issues in community

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Match PI and Project to Mechanism

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Assess Your Own Research Capability

• Studies, articles, mentoring, training, clinical experience, etc.

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Research Infrastructure within Social Work schools/Departments• Need to reward faculty to spur research.• Need to honor publication in mainline (peer

reviewed) journals – balance between social work and multidiscipline.

• Need to link research activities to the schools’ mission and activities.

• Need to link research to the social work community needs.

• Need to value evidenced based curricula/teaching as much as feasible.

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the learning culture

•Need to involve the teaching faculty in the research endeavor – one faculty ( the leaning culture).

• No more lone rangers!!!!!!

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Social WORK(ING) Together• Networking across schools/universities

• Creating cross regional research sites• Creating enhanced research infrastructures;

specialization centers• Visiting/swapping researchers• PHD schools partnering with regional non-

PhD social work programs; training centers

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* Secret #2

It is the job of NIH staff tohelp you succeed.

(get funded, conduct quality research, follow the law)

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Who Are the NIH Staff?

• Program Staff

• Scientific Review Staff

• Grants Management Staff

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Hmmm!

What do you think?