Alcohol

CBHRS associate professor Dr. Diane King (co-investigator) and research professional Alex Edwards (project manager) are collaborating with psychology professor Dr. Patrick Dulin (principal investigator) on a clinical trial to reduce drinking. Funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,  study participants will test either a smart-phone app or a chatbot version of an evidence-based program called Step Away. 

In Alaska, alcohol is a casual or contributing factor in 9 of the top 10 causes of death and is involved in a quarter of all accidents requiring hospitalization. ISER’s Center for Behavioral Health Research & Services (CBHRS) is working with health care providers in Alaska and outside of Alaska to promote the use of SBIRT, an evidence-based protocol that helps reduce alcohol misuse and dependence.

Suicide rates among Alaska Natives rose rapidly in the 1960s and have remained high since then, with the highest rate among young Alaska Native men living in Alaska's small rural communities: 20 times the rate among Americans as a whole. But suicide rates among young Alaska Native men are considerably higher or lower in some small rural places than in others.  In a recent analysis, Matthew Berman, professor of economics at ISER, looked at how community living conditions—including local alcohol control—affect suicide rates among young Alaska Native men. Analyzing data from the period 1980 through 2007, he found that specific community characteristics were associated with either higher or lower risk of suicide. Download the analysis, Suicide Among Young Alaska Native Men: Community Factors and Alcohol Control (PDF, 561.5KB). It was published in the American Journal of Public Health. If you have questions, get in touch with Matthew Berman at matthew.berman@uaa.alaska.edu.