Transcript Slide 1

Federal Funding to Support Research
of Adventure Programming and
Experiential Education:
The Why’s and How To’s
Aleta L. Meyer, Ph.D.
Health Scientist Administrator
(e.g, Program Official, Cheerleader)
Prevention Research Branch
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Department of Health and Human Services
#1
What is NIDA and what does it
have to do with adventure
programming and experiential
education?
National Institutes of Health
(a sampling)
• National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• National Institute on Child and Human
Development (NICHD)
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
• National Institute on Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK)
• National Institute on Heart , Lung, and
Blood Infections (NHLBI)
• National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA)
The Science of Addiction Brochure
• Office of Science Policy and Communication
– Knowledge Transfer Goals
– Draws from research done by all Divisions
• Research done through:
–
–
–
–
Program Announcements (PA)
Request for Proposals Announcements (RFA)
Intramural Research
Small Business Grants (SBIRs/STTRs)
• Walk Through Content  Application to Current
World View
Question: How and what is relevant to the work of
adventure programming and experiential
education?
Exercise that pre-frontal
cortex!!
DESPR Organization and Mission
EPIDEMIOLOGY RESEARCH BRANCH
DESPR promotes
epidemiology, services and
prevention research to
understand and address the range
of problems related to drug abuse, in
order to improve public health.
PREVENTION RESEARCH BRANCH
SERVICES RESEARCH BRANCH
DESPR’s Vision is to Promote --
Extraordinary
Public Health
Research to Eradicate
Drug Abuse
DESPR: Major Research Questions
1. THEORIES
• What new theories inform our
research?
2. INTERACTIONS
• What intrapersonal and environmental
factors interact across development?
3. BLENDING
• How can we blend science and services
to measurably impact public health
outcomes?
New Opportunities:
• New Theories





Economics &
organization/management
Neurobehavioral disinhibition
Measuring severity of drug
addiction
Geo-mapping drug abuse and
risk factors
Exercise and drug abuse
prevention
New Opportunities:
Interactions
 Implementation
science
 Gene-environmentdevelopment studies
 Built environment and
individual factors
New Opportunities:
• Science to Services



Medical settings
– Screening (especially SBIRTs)
– Prescription drug abuse
(especially opioids)
HIV interventions among drug
abusers
Drug abuse services in criminal
justice settings
Division of Epidemiology, Services
and Prevention Research
Promoting Extraordinary Public
Health Research to Eradicate
Drug Abuse
#2
Given what you know about adventure
programming and experiential education….
….how could Extraordinary research that
makes a difference happen without them??
• Core Experiential Learning Theory Assertions:
– The actual behavior is elicited in context with reallife contingencies
• Behavioral reinforcement is built-in to the activity
– Effective use of metaphors promotes transfer across
contexts
– Learning styles of youth favor experiential
strategies
#3
The Time is Ripe!
• NIDA is investing in the development of a
research portfolio that looks at potential role
of physical activity, healthy leisure, outdoor
adventure, and restorative recreation in the
prevention of drug use
• SA Treatment and Physical Activity Science
Meeting in December 2007
– PA and relapse prevention
– PA and healing of reward-pleasure circuitry
• Prevention Science Meeting June 5 & 6, 2008
Can Physical Activity and Exercise Prevent Drug Abuse?
Promoting a Full Range of Science to Inform Prevention
Draft Agenda
• Welcome from NIDA
– 3 Divisions and Why Physical Activity of Interest
• Panel 1: Informing Drug Abuse Prevention
Through Research on the Epidemiology and
Etiology of Physical Activity and Substance Use
– Physical Activity from Cells to Neighborhoods: Setting
the Stage
– The Physiology/Neurobiology of Physical Activity in
Humans
– Trends in Physical Activity, Substance Abuse, and the
Interaction Between Them: Data from Monitoring the
Future
Draft Agenda Contd.
• Panel 2: Show and Tell of Technological
Tools to Help Assess Physical Activity:
Product Demonstrations
– The Pros and Cons of Physical Activity
Assessments: An Overview
– Integrated Measurement System (IMS) to
Assess Physical Activity
– Population-Scale Physical Activity
Measurement Using Mobile Phones
– Geospatial Analysis of Physical Activity
– Measuring the Restorative Character of
Nature-Based Activity
Draft Agenda Contd.
• Panel 3: The Potential Role of Physical
Activity, Attention, and Other Cognitive
Processes in Preventing Drug Abuse
– Exercise and Attention Disorders
– Physical Activity and Cognition Across the
Lifespan
– Motor and Physical Instructional Strategies for
Young Children
– Effectiveness of Social-Emotional Learning on
Impulse Control
Draft Agenda Contd
.
• Panel 4: Physical Activity and Mood:
Implications for Prevention
– The Physiology/Neurobiology of Stress and Physical Activity in
Animal Research
– Exercise, Depression and Nicotine Treatment
– Physical Activity and Prevention of Internalizing Disorders
• Panel 5: Physical Activity and Reward
Mechanisms: A Model for Prevention
Intervention Development
– Exercise as an Alternative to Drug Seeking in Young
Animals
– The Effect of Enhanced Environment on Drug Seeking
and Sensation Seeking Behavior
– Experiential Approaches and Motivation
Draft Agenda Contd.
• Panel 6: Physical Activity in Prevention
Interventions: Understanding the Context
– Health Wise and Time Wise: Teaching Adolescents to
Structure and Use Their Leisure Time
– Creating Supports for Physical Activity in School
Settings
– School Environment and Obesity: The HEALTHY
Study to Lower Diabetes Risk in Youth
– School-Community Partnerships to Prevent
Cardiovascular Disease and Obesity in Girls Through
Physical Activity
– Use of Public Spaces: Experiences of Diverse Ethnic
Groups
• What Have We Learned and Next Steps?
#4
Lessons Learned in Moving Prevention
Beyond Good Intentions
• Prevention Makes Sense BUT….
– How do we know it works?
• For whom, under what conditions, and when?
– Not as provocative as treatment
• Benefits not as concrete
• Not crisis driven
– How do we get people to spend scarce
resources of time, energy, and money?
Creation of Prevention Research Branch and
Development of Research Portfolio (~1990)
• Investigator Initiated Research
– Program Announcements for Preventive
Interventions for Substance Abuse Prevention
• R-01
• R-21
• R-03
– Specific RFA’s with set-asides
– Mentorship/Training (K-series; Diversity
supplements)
– FAST TRACK for new investigators
– Small Business Grants (SBIRs/STTRs)
Mission and Purpose of the
Prevention Research Branch
• “…to support a developmentally grounded
program of research on the prevention of
the initiation of drug use, progression to
abuse and dependence, and transmission
of drug-related HIV infection.…” (p. 4)
Noteworthy Tidbits
• “To advance the field, novel interventions must
build on basic science findings from diverse fields…”
(p. 5)
• Universal, selected, and indicated
• Underdeveloped areas:
–
–
–
–
Developmental transitions
Differential effectiveness
Fidelity of implementation
Emerging technologies
• Question: What does adventure
programming and experiential education do
that is relevant to NIDA prevention research
priorities?
#5
Going Beyond Best Practices
and Evidence-Based Programs
PRINCIPLES OF
PREVENTION
Clearly Established Principles
• Arrived at from an extensive literature
review of articles from NIDA funded
research
• Reviewed by an expert scientific panel
• Reviewed by a professional practitioner
panel
• Resulted in 18 principles
Principles Related to:
Risk and Protective Factors
• Prevention programs should
– enhance protective factors and reverse or
reduce risk factors
– address all forms of drug abuse, alone or in
combination
– Address the drug abuse problems of the local
community by targeting modifiable risk factors
and strengthening protective factors
– Be tailored to address the risks specific to the
target population
Principles Related to:
Prevention Planning
• Family programs should
– Enhance family bonding, parenting skills, and
communication
• School Programs should be specific to the
developmental status of the children
– Before/during the elementary school years: self control,
emotional awareness, problem solving, communication &
academic readiness/competence
– Middle, junior high, and high school: peer relations,
study habits and academic support, communication, selfefficacy and assertiveness, drug resistance skills
Principles Related to:
Prevention Planning
• Community Programs
– Aimed at the general population during key transition points
(e.g, moving to junior high) can be beneficial for those at all
levels of risk
– That combine 2 or more effective programs (e.g., school and
family component) can be more effective than one program
– When using multiple context to implement programs,
policies and practices consistent messages should be
presented across settings
Principles Related to:
Prevention Program Delivery
• When communities select programs to meet their
needs, the implementation should retain the core
elements of the original program
• Prevention is an on-going effort with repeated
programming over time to reinforce earlier goals and
develop new skills
• Teacher training in classroom management is a critical
school-based prevention strategy
• Evidence based prevention interventions are cost
effective
Emerging Principles
• Preventive interventions can have long term
effects
• Preventive interventions can have cross over
effects
• Early intervention may alter the life course
trajectory in a positive direction
• High risk populations may benefit the most from
prevention interventions
• Prevention interventions can influence
physiological functioning
• Drug abuse prevention can be HIV prevention
• Environment can be a natural intervention
Preventive Interventions Can
Have Long Term Effects
Preventive Interventions Can
Have Cross Over Effects
Early Intervention May Alter The
Life Course Trajectory In A
Positive Direction
High Risk Populations May
Benefit The Most From
Prevention Interventions
Prevention Interventions Can
Influence Physiological
Functioning
Drug Abuse Prevention Can
Be HIV Prevention
Environment Can Be A
Natural Intervention
#6
Expanding Our Understanding of Prevention,
Health Promotion, and Positive Youth
Development
• Moving Beyond
– A focus on individuals
– A focus on programs
– Conceptual models based on early aggression
• Moving Toward
– Health Promotion Across Domains
– Positive Youth Development
– Conceptual Models Based on New Science from the
Micro to the Macro
– Systems-Level Change
Evidence-Based Kernels and
Behavior Vaccines (Embry, 2004)
• Evidence-based kernels are irreducible units of behavior-change
technology, and they can be put together into behavioral vaccines
(daily practices) with powerful longitudinal results.
• Breadth of reach (self-directed, dyadic, group,
community)
• Multi-level Approach
–
–
–
–
–
Level
Level
Level
Level
Level
One – Cultural Modeling
Two – Brief Tools
Three – Narrow Focus Tools
Four – Broad Focus Tools
Five – Intensive Tools
Related Paradigm Shifts
• Public Health Model vs. Medical Model
– Curve Shifters
• Supply-Push vs. Demand-Pull
• Public Health Approach vs. Service
Development Model
“If we spend so lavishly on medical care and
we care so much about health, why are we
so unhealthy?” (Cohen & Farley, 2005)
• A public health approach used to address
preventable chronic diseases  Shifting the Curve
• A focus on environmental contexts that serve as
cues or triggers for behaviors that are risks for
health or are health promoting
– Environments can be physical or social
• Example of heart disease
– What aspects of our environment make it easy to do the
things that put us at risk for heart disease?
Bell Curves
• Basic shape of bell curve
– High and low ‘tails’ of extreme behavior
– Mean or average in the middle (at the height of the
curve)
• Example of eating salt
– A medical approach would focus on changing ALL the
unhealthy behaviors of people at the high end (in
addition to medications)
• A focus on getting rid of the tail at the right of the curve
– A public health approach would focus on changing
small behaviors of ALL people
• A focus on shifting the mean of the curve to the left
– This reduces level of risk for all
– This moves the ‘extreme’ tail farther to the left, so even though
the same number of people, they are at less risk
• Greater reduction of public health burden of
heart disease when mean is shifted (than when
efforts are focused on those at highest risk)
Curve Shifters
• Curve shifters are changes in the physical and
social environment that move the curve to the
left
– More sidewalks, mass transit
– Time in schedule for taking a walk with family/friends
• Not surprisingly, changing the environment to
support healthy behavior is easier said than
done
• Even so, it is a powerful tool for thinking about
how we can prevent youth violence and/or
bullying
Developing Effective Prevention
Services for the Real World
(Sandler et al., 2005)
• Prevention Research Cycle
–
–
–
–
–
Description of the problem
Development of intervention
Experimental test
Experimental test in service setting
Adoption and implementation
• Problems with this model (e.g., on-going
services research)
– Has not made a dent in prevalance at population
level
– Not being adopted / Sustainability issues
Prevention Service Development
Model
• Service Marketing Perspective considers
customer input at all stages (both ultimate client
who is recipient and the agency that adopts)
• Front-end planning
–
–
–
–
Organizational mission and goals?
Idea generation
Concept development
Feasibility Analysis
• New Phases: Prototype Development and
Testing; Introduction to the Market; Post
Introduction Evaluation
Small Business Approaches
• Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) /
Small Business Technology Transfer Research
(STTR)
• Goal: Promote small businesses through innovation
and technology, to “spread the news” about what
works
• Small businesses create the applied possibilities,
after Ivory Tower researchers create the concept
• Example: Evidence-based programs
– Test on new populations and settings
– Create marketing and implementation opportunities for
greater use/dissemination
#7
What are priority areas of hypothesistesting for adventure programming and
experiential education?
• Specific Areas of Research Interest (pp. 6-9)
• Question: What would the little ‘line items’
be for adventure programming and
experiential education look like?
– WRITE THESE DOWN AND GET A COPY TO ME
Food for Thought
• Testing Experiential Learning Approaches
– Comparison of EBPs with and without EE
• Additive Effects  Use of metaphors/language
from school-based prevention curriculum to
field trips
• Diffuse Binge Drinking with Rites of Passage
• Teach parents how to facilitate ‘natural high’
experiences to promote competence and
transfer across settings (and over time)
– E Sharp’s research on leisure guidance from parents
• Event-Affect Links
– Social-Emotional-Information Processing
• Relational Frame Theory / Contextual
Psychology
– Move from belief we need to change beliefs or
thoughts before behavior will change
– Focus on function over form
– Have you feet follow values, not thoughts
•
•
•
•
Positive Risk-Taking
Learning Orientation Toward Goals
Possible Selves / Willingness to Fail
Mindfulness
REPEAT MESSAGE:
Get Ready The Time is Ripe!!
Final Question: How many people have
said something like this
“Opportunity favors the prepared…”
Who were they and what did they say?
Contact information
• [email protected]
• 301-402-1725
• Active Living Research Meeting April 9-11,
2008, Washington DC
• Society for Prevention Research Meeting
May 28-30, San Francisco CA