An evaluation of national institute on drug abuse's international program research training and exchange programs

INTRODUCTION: The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) International Program (IP) supports three research training and exchange programs to foster international cooperative research and the dissemination of scientific information on drug use, abuse and addiction. PURPOSE: To evaluate the scientific productivity outcomes associated with participation in the NIDA IP training and exchange programs. The primary outcome variables are achievement of training goals, number of scientific presentations and publications, and acquisition of research grant funding. The outcome variables will be assessed 3 years pre- and post- program participation. METHOD: Archival data will be abstracted from the program participants' initial applications and supplemented by responses to a web-based survey. Information regarding publications will be verified on web-based search engines such as PubMed. RESULTS: The preliminary results indicate that between 1990 and 2006, there were 107 Fellows funded through the NIDA IP training and exchange programs. The Fellows represent 47 countries, 71.96% of which were low- or middle- income countries. Seventy-eight percent of respondents reported having published a scientific article and 66% reported having made a scientific presentation. The majority of respondents reported having received a research grant from: 1) the U.S. National Institutes of Health; 2) an international funding organization; or 3) a research funding agency within their home country. The complete analysis of the pre- and post-outcome measures will be presented. DISCUSSION: The program has successfully contributed to the establishment of research capacity to study drug abuse and addiction internationally and is illustrated by the results of the preliminary analysis.