Goals 

Work in these areas include funded research, clinical care and education and mentoring tied variously to the Birmingham VA Medical Center, University’s Center for Addiction and Pain Prevention and Intervention (CAPPI), UAB’s new Addiction Medicine Fellowship, and post-doctoral scholars and/or junior faculty. In regard to research, areas of focus are addiction, opioid use and care for vulnerable populations with elevated rates of pain and/or addiction. Clinical work at the Birmingham Medical Center includes prescription opioid reassessment, homeless healthcare and inpatient medicine.

Current Projects

Since 1993, this group has built a program of research focused on substance use and addiction involving tobacco, drugs, and alcohol, and the relationship between social disparities and substance use. Current projects include studies at the intersection of substance use and pain, health disparities, and homelessness and pain-related care in the absence of substance use. Current projects in tobacco control include observational and intervention studies among underserved populations in the US and low- and middle-income countries, particularly with regard to tobacco cessation. There also is an increasing focus on understanding the population harm associated with use of emerging tobacco products, such as filtered little cigars and cigarillos.

Similar disciplinary approaches are applied to some problems that may not qualify as “substance use,” including dietary and sexual behaviors.

Research projects and expertise include: assessment of behavioral and psychosocial risk factors (e.g., tobacco use, sexual behavior, dietary habits), consideration of health systems implementation in relation to substance use and pain, and interventions designed to reduce risk factors, promote health-enhancing behaviors, and improve processes of care. Additional expertise includes examination of factors associated with adherence to medical and behavioral treatment regimens, development of treatment strategies to promote mental and physical health, and development of interventions to improve quality of life.