An Arts Intervention for Drug-Using Homeless Youth

描述(申请人提供)：在全国范围内，无家可归的年轻人试图逃避重大的生活挑战，这可能会导致吸毒和酗酒的问题。这种行为与肝炎病毒感染和艾滋病毒有关。不到三分之一的无家可归青年寻求医疗服务，不到10%的吸毒和酗酒青年寻求药物滥用治疗服务。根据对无家可归青年在获得药物使用治疗和促进健康服务方面遇到的障碍的日益了解，显然无家可归青年需要在规划、实施和评估在无家可归青年经常出现的地点提供的药物咨询方案方面发挥重要作用。使用基于社区的参与性研究(CBPR)方法，加州大学洛杉矶分校的研究人员最近邀请无家可归的青年和社区合作伙伴进行定性研究，以更好地了解无家可归的青年对药物咨询的看法，并考虑采取创新策略，让无家可归的青年参与药物使用和健康促进咨询。我们的社区合作伙伴包括来自无家可归青年组织的无家可归青年，以及加州艺术学院(加州艺术学院)的教师。无家可归的青年考虑的一项以青年为中心的创新战略是利用艺术和媒体来制作个人信息，以吸引青年的兴趣和吸引力。在拟议的调查中，研究人员、无家可归的青年和来自无家可归青年经常光顾的临时收容所的工作人员，将与我们的加州艺术学院的合作伙伴一起，参与以青年为中心的药物使用和健康促进干预计划的开发、试点测试和评估。在R21的第一阶段，将利用CBPR方法与指导委员会一起制定以青年为中心的药物使用和健康促进干预计划，将通过与街头青年的焦点小组会议评估生活事项的可接受性，并随后根据无家可归青年的反馈进行细化。在第二阶段，调查人员和社区合作伙伴将进行一项试点研究，以探索Life Matters计划的可接受性，并测试该计划的影响，与对照组相比，128名类似的年轻人在以下方面：完成计划；减少危险药物和酒精的使用；完成甲型肝炎/乙肝疫苗系列；以及提高肝炎知识。短期目标是改进可以在大规模干预试验中充分测试的策略。长期目标是促进关于促进创新和青年设计的与毒品有关的行为的知识，以及在青年聚集的环境中完成治疗。公共卫生相关性：在这项研究中，来自临时收容地点的无家可归青年以及来自加州大学洛杉矶分校和加州艺术学院的教职员工将开发、试点测试和评估一项以青年为基础的药物和健康促进计划。希望这项计划将有助于制定一项可在更大规模的研究中进一步测试的计划，并导致制定一项创新和有效的药物咨询计划，供无家可归地点的青年使用。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Nationwide, homeless youths are attempting to escape major life challenges, which may result in problem drug and alcohol use. Such behaviors are associated with hepatitis virus infections and HIV. Less than one third of homeless youth seek medical care, and less than 10% of drug and alcohol-using youths seek substance abuse treatment services. Based upon increasing knowledge about the barriers experienced by homeless youth relating to accessing treatment for substance use and health promoting services, it is clear that homeless youth need to play a major role in the planning, implementation and evaluation of drug counseling programs delivered at sites that homeless youth frequent. Using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, UCLA researchers recently engaged homeless youth and community partners in qualitative research to better understand homeless youths' perspectives on drug counseling and to consider innovative strategies to engage homeless youth, in accessing drug use and health promotion counseling. Our community partners included homeless youth from homeless youth-based organizations, and faculty from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). An innovative youth-centered strategy considered by homeless youth was the use of the arts and media to craft personal messages that capture youth interest and appeal. In the proposed investigation, researchers, homeless youth and staff from a drop-in site frequented by homeless youth, along with our CalArts partners, will participate in the development, pilot testing and evaluation of a youth-centered drug-use and health-promoting intervention program. In Phase I of this R21, a CBPR approach will be utilized with a steering committee to develop a youth-centered drug use and health promoting intervention program, LIFE MATTERS which will be assessed in terms of acceptability via focus group sessions with street youth and subsequently refined based upon homeless youth feedback. In Phase 2, investigators and community partners will conduct a pilot study to explore the acceptability of the LIFE MATTERS program as well as test the impact of the program, compared to a control group, with 128 similar youth in terms of: completion of the program; reduction of risky drug and alcohol use; completion of a HAV/HBV vaccine series; and improvement in knowledge about hepatitis. The short-term goals are to refine strategies that can be fully tested in a large-scale intervention trial. The long-term goals are to contribute to knowledge about promoting innovative and youth-designed drug-related behaviors, and treatment completion in settings where youth congregate. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: In the study, homeless youth from a drop-in site and faculty from UCLA and California Institute of the Arts will develop, pilot test and evaluate a youth-based drug and health-promoting program. It is hoped that this program will help in the development of a program that can be further tested in a larger study and lead to the development of an innovative and effective drug counseling program that youth situated in homeless sites will utilize.