ADULT SCIENCE EDUCATION--BRIDGING THE GAP

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The establishment of a Texas Addiction Science Education Center (TASEC) at the University will fill a void in bridging the information gap between educators/scientists performing ADAMHA-related activities and the adult general public. This will be done by setting up partnerships among University faculty, the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and the non-profit media-oriented Alcoholism and Drug Research Communications Center. The target population will be those who are most impacted by chemical abuse, addictive and mental diseases: victims, victims' families, victims' employers, and individuals in organizations which must be aware of or deal with the consequences of these disorders (clergy, public housing, criminal justice, probation, social workers, counselors, etc.). Methods of instruction will include: dynamic, interactive symposia with a multimedia presentation format; experimental workshops in which audiences participate in video and interactive computer demonstrations; abbreviated videotape versions of the symposia and workshops, for distribution to wider audiences; continuing education reviews, sometimes with accompanying videotape packages for those who require professional accreditation; and interactive computer-based programs which cover material presented in the symposia and workshops. The effectiveness of information exchange and utilization will be evaluated by pre-program and post-program questionnaires designed by a science education evaluation specialist, and by 1-, 2-, and 3-year follow-ups of selected participants. Two innovative aspects of the TASEC will be 1) an emphasis on empowering select audiences to teach others about new research findings (addiction counselors are usually educators of victims' families, since education is an important part of recovery), and 2) training laboratory scientists in public education and media presentation skills, through specialized workshops in Austin and ADAMHA-funded research centers around the nation. These aspects provide powerful education networking and self-replication of important skills which already exist at the University. The TASEC will focus on Texas audiences, except for training of other scientists on media skills and lay-language presentation. Thus the University-based center will highly impact the citizens of Texas on neuroscience, chemical abuse, addiction and mental diseases, yet have the ability to replicate its strengths through the training of scientists in other states. The commitment of the state of Texas is illustrated by the University's commitment to the principal investigator and co-investigators' salaries and release time, and by partially-matched funding for the TASEC by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.