There are fundamental philosophical differences between the researcher and service provider cultures that pose challenges to effective communication. In exploring the dissemination of research findings, the value of joint interchange became apparent, because it revealed the major communication barrier: operating exclusively from a research or service perspective. Service providers can identify emerging research issues based on first hand observations and promising interventions for evaluation. Service style and content are also research areas particularly since HIV-drug use, drugs users and, comorbid disorders are constantly evolving. Researchers can provide program evaluation assistance, interpretation of statistical results and information on effective interventions. Strategies to enhance communication have been implemented including: tailoring research-based workshops to service provider needs and providing technical assistance for evaluations. Professional development models are utilized to update skills and provide technical assistance to organizations and frontline workers. Ethical issues in dissemination and definition of provider-researcher, and client-defined outcomes will also be discussed. This project is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse - P30 DA11041.
Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to: 1) Describe barriers to effective communication among service providers and researchers. 2) Understand how interdependent research and service needs provide an opportunity for mutual education. 3) Review and devise strategies to improve communication among researchers and service providers interested in the HIV/AIDS-drug use link in prevention and intervention. 4) Identify outcomes to measure success of joint ventures i.e., client based, service provider based, and researcher based
Keywords: Communication Technology, Community Collaboration
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None