Dr. Barbara Oudekerk: Research to Increase Access to Substance Use Prevention Among Youth

Substance misuse among youth is a significant public health problem. This presentation will highlight research supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse to address barriers and increase access to substance misuse prevention programs among youth who experience significant risk. The talk will start with an overview of the Prevention Research Branch in the Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, describing the research portfolio areas and priorities and a focus on supporting research that will lead to sustainable, scalable interventions. The PRB research portfolios include research in settings such as schools, social services, justice, and other settings where populations demonstrating significant risk for substance misuse or use disorders might be engaged in prevention services. The NIH HEAL Prevention Initiative (HPI), will be described as an example of this work. The HPI vision is that health care organizations and public systems will be able to make evidence-based intervention services accessible to all persons who demonstrate risk for opioid and other substance misuse. The presentation will provide an overview of the HPI strategic areas and the HEAL Prevention Cooperative (HPC). The HPC is a group of research projects, each testing an intervention to prevent opioid misuse among adolescents and young adults who have experienced risk. Study populations include youth in tribal communities, juvenile justice systems, school-based health centers, social service systems, and health systems. The presentation will end with a group discussion of additional research needed to facilitate increased, equitable access to prevention.
Dr. Barbara Oudekerk
NIH
Dr. Barbara Oudekerk is a Social and Behavioral Sciences Administrator at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in the Prevention Research Branch. Her current program areas include prevention research in child welfare and other social service, justice, and community settings. Dr. Oudekerk also leads the branch’s efforts related to the NIH HEAL Prevention Initiative, and is the Science Officer supporting coordination for the HEAL Preventing Opioid Use Disorder in Adolescents and Young Adults Cooperative. Prior to NIDA, Dr. Oudekerk was a social science statistician in the Victimization Statistics Unit at the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice. At BJS she directed the Victim Services Statistical Research Program, which included overseeing the National Census and Survey of Victim Service Providers and coordinating efforts to collect comprehensive national data on help-seeking and access to services among victims of crime or abuse. She also managed research and published from the National Crime Victimization Survey on topics including juvenile crime and victimization, indicators of school crime and safety, bullying, and repeat victimization. Prior to BJS, Dr. Oudekerk was an APA/AAAS Executive Branch Science Fellow, during which she spent a year working at the National Institute of Justice. She completed her Ph.D. and post-doctoral research training at the University of Virginia with a focus in community and developmental psychology.