Grant helps UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Program establish drug and alcohol rehabilitation, research center in Iraq
By Daniel Riesenbach
Oct. 26, 2011 12:58 a.m.
With the help of a grant, UCLA is laying the foundation for a new drug and rehabilitation treatment and training center in Baghdad.
The university’s Integrated Substance Abuse Program, which coordinates substance abuse research and treatment, received a $770,000 grant in early October from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The center is being formed in cooperation with the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
The need for an Iraqi center focusing on substance abuse arose from anecdotal evidence of a rapid increase in heroin addiction rates in Iraq in the past decade, as well as other drugs like prescription drugs and human growth hormone, said Richard Rawson, associate director of the substance abuse program and oversees the Baghdad program, in an emailed statement.
Yet, there is little data available on the subject, which has made analyzing the extent of the problem a challenge for people studying the issue, Rawson said.
Rawson was in Cairo last week developing plans to train Iraqis in the city for the center, which is currently in preparatory stages. Among the key goals of the grant is providing training to local Iraqi medical professionals on modern recovery strategies for substance abuse and related psychological issues and disorders, which they will take back to treat patients in Iraq.
Gathering data will also be a focus of the program, Rawson said.
“Hopefully development of these services will help individuals who suffer from drug and alcohol problems, and will be a positive career opportunity for the professionals,” Rawson said.
The grant’s value is equivalent to one year of funding, although it is expected that the first year will transition into a multi-year project, said Winnie Mitchell, international officer at SAMHSA.
The Integrated Substance Abuse Program had demonstrated a track record of working both internationally and in the Middle East, Mitchell said. In the 12 years since its inception, the program’s international influences have reached China, Vietnam and Egypt, while also working with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
“As with any other issue, drug patterns are clearly a global phenomenon,” said Christine Grella, an associate director of the Integrated Substance Abuse Program. “It’s critical (to our purpose) to disseminate the leading technologies and information around the world.”
The experience of members working in the program, including Rawson, also contributed to SAMHSA’s decision.
There are plans for large training events in both Cairo and Lebanon in the next nine months. Training Iraqi professionals in Cairo will make it easier to deliver applicable skills in the context of Egyptian culture, which is more similar to the local circumstances in Baghdad, Rawson said.
The first training event will be a month-long program through February at the University of Cairo, where 12 professionals will go through “Addiction 101″ training, followed by a fieldwork practicum at four sites around the city, Rawson said.
Grace Kim, a staff research associate of the program and a 2001 UCLA alumna, is involved in the program’s logistical development. She said some hurdles have arisen during the process of establishing the center.
“The most challenging element of the planning has been coordinating all the different schedules, given the unpredictable political climates in each country,” she said.
At UCLA, the Integrated Substance Abuse Program will also be hosting Mushtaq Talid Hashim, an Iraqi doctor, for two weeks in early December to participate in a “Training of Trainers” methodology.
Hashim will be at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center for part of this time, as well as other primary care centers in Los Angeles and San Francisco, gathering the skills on site to communicate with doctors in Iraq, Kim said.
