Resources / Research

Aventa is committed to evidence-based Best Practices and as such, participates in community-based research in order to enhance knowledge in the field of addiction and mental health.

CRISM

CRISM (Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse (CRISM): Prairie Node Research, is being led by Dr. Cameron T. Wild (University of Alberta), David Hodgins (University of Calgary) and Colleen Dell (University of Saskatchewan), a Regional Coordinating Committee, Regional Advisory Panel, University based researchers and service providers. Aventa is a member on the project as a service provider and may be a research site in the future phases of the project.

The Prairie CRISM node will examine ways to keep people in addiction treatment longer, and explore web-based resources for screening and brief interventions for substance misuse. The regional team includes experts in clinical research, health services, and First Nations and Métis health.

CRISM is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), through a federal anti-drug strategy. The objective is to translate evidence-based interventions for illicit and prescription drug misuse into clinical practice, community based prevention and health system changes. CRISM is modeled after the US National Institute of Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network and will be a national consortium of academic researchers, service providers, consumers and policy makers. This initiative will create effective and trusting collaborative working relationships among regional affiliates and develope accessible resources for substance misuse interventions that are of value to researchers, service providers and consumer advocates.

CRISM News

FASD

FASD has a significant impact on the affected individual and their family and is likely over-represented in community programs/agencies involved in substance abuse and mental health. With support of the Alberta Government FASD Cross-Ministry Committee, a Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) is being piloted at four sites in Alberta, including Aventa. This TIP is designed for service providers who are working in the substance abuse and/or mental health field. The goal of the TIP is to help identify both women at risk of giving birth to a child with FASD and individuals who may have FASD themselves, and ultimately facilitate provision of appropriate services and supports. The goal of this project is to collect program-level data on the Alberta pilot of the TIP to determine its efficacy and feasibility before it is implemented over a broader range of agencies.

Results from the Alberta Pilot of the Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) for FASD

Dr. Monica L Zilberman

Monica Zilberman, MD, PhD, is a Psychiatrist who graudated from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Sal Paulo and completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the Addiction Centre, University of Calgary, specializing in gender issues in addiction.

Dr. Zilberman was a Psychiatrist Fellow at Aventa from 2001 – 2002 and during this time, she conducted the following research with an emphasis on drug addiction and mental health in women, as well as impusiveness and emotional response.