Researchers' Profiles

Darren I. Urada, Ph.D.

Darren I. Urada, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Dr. Urada's work focuses on applying scientific knowledge and evaluation methods to inform and improve behavioral health policies and practices at the state, county, and provider level. He is currently the Principal Investigator (PI) of multiple studies including the evaluation of California's Organized Delivery System waiver for Substance Use Disorder services, the evaluation of California's Hub and Spoke System for treating opiate use disorders, and an evaluation of an effort to integrate behavioral health and primary care (Project Care). He previously led other studies of behavioral health integration, California's evaluation of the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000 (aka Proposition 36), and a grant to organize an international meeting on the integration of SUD treatment with primary care that drew international experts from 23 countries as well as co-sponsorships from the U.S. Institute of Peace, NIDA,SAMHSA, WHO, UNODC, and others. Dr. Urada has also contributed to work on the California State Treatment Needs Assessment Program, a study of substance use and welfare reform, the California Treatment Outcome Project (CalTOP), meta-analytic studies on substance use and HIV/AIDS, and research on treatment expansion. Dr. Urada's diverse experience includes serving as a volunteer relapse prevention group facilitator at an SUD treatment clinic and providing testimony to the California legislature on multiple occasions. He has worked for the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs since 1998 and has authored or co-authored over 100 chapters, reports, and peer reviewed journal articles during that time.

  • University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 1993, Psychology
  • University of Southern California, M.A., 1995, Social Psychology
  • University of Southern California, Ph.D., 2000, Social Psychology
  • Criminal Justice Treatment
  • Integration of Primary Care and Treatment for Substance Use Disorders
  1. Schaper, E., Padwa, H., Urada, D., & Shoptaw, S. (in press). Substance Use Disorder Patient Privacy and Comprehensive Care in Integrated Healthcare Settings. Psychological Services.
  2. Urada, D., Teruya, C., Gelberg, L., & Rawson, R. (2014). Integration of substance use disorder services with primary care: Health center surveys and qualitative interviews. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 28, 9-15. doi: 10.1186/1747-597X-9-15.
  3. Urada, D., Rawson, R., & Onuki, M. (2014). Peace Building through a Substance Use Conference Structured on Peace Psychology Principles. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology. 20(1), 84-94. doi: 10.1037/a0035579
  4. Anglin, M.D., Nosyk, B., Jaffe, A., & Urada, D. (2013). Offender diversion into substance use disorder treatment: The economic impact of California's Proposition 36. American Journal of Public Health, 103(6),1096-1102.
  5. Urada, D., Schaper, E., Alvarez, L., Reilly, C., Dawar, M., Field, R., Antonini, V., Oeser, B., Crèvecoeur-MacPhail, D.A., & Rawson, R. (2012). Perceptions of mental health and substance use disorder services integration among the workforce in primary care settings. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 44(4):292-8.
  6. Padwa, H., Urada, D., Antonini, V.P., Ober, A., Crèvecoeur-MacPhail, D.A., & Rawson, R.A. (2012). Integrating Substance Use Disorder Services with Primary Care: The Experience in California. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 44(4): 299-306.
  7. Antonini, V.P., Oeser, B.T., Rawson, R.A., Urada, D. (2012). The California Integration Learning Collaborative: a forum to address challenges of SUD-primary care service integration. Journal of Psychoactive Drug, 44(4): 285-91.
  8. McGovern, M.P., Urada, D., Lambert-Harris, C., Sullivan, S.T., & Mazade, N.A. (2012). Development and application of an organizational measure of behavioral health integration in medical care settings. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 43(4), 402-409. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2012.08.013.
  9. Guerrero, E.G., Campos, M., Urada, D., and Yang, J.C. (2012). Do cultural and linguistic competence matter in Latinos' completion of mandated substance abuse treatment? Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy,,7:34 doi:10.1186/1747-597X-7-34.
  10. Brecht, M-L & Urada, D. (2011). Treatment outcomes for methamphetamine users: California Proposition 36 and other clients. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs,Suppl 7, 68-76.
  11. Urada, D., Rutkowski, B.A., Rawson, R.A., & Freese, T.E. (2011). Identifying and assessing promising practices for criminal justice clients—California Substance Abuse Research Consortium (SARC) Meetings, 2010. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Suppl 7: 3-9.
  12. Urada, D., Gardiner, C., & Anglin, M.D. (2011). Stakeholder consensus and circumvention in drug diversion programs: findings from California’s Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (Proposition 36). Journal of Drug Issues, 41(1), 45-68.
  13. Rawson, R., Gonzales, R., Crèvecoeur-MacPhail, D., Urada, D., Brecht, M-L, Chalk, M., Kemp, J., Cunningham, M. (2010). Improving the Accountability of California’s Public Substance Abuse Treatment System. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs SARC Suppl 6, 211-214.
  14. Prendergast, M. L., Podus, D., Chang, E., & Urada, D. (2002). The Effectiveness of Drug Abuse Treatment: A Meta-Analysis of Comparison Group Studies. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 67, 53-72.
  15. Prendergast, M. L., Urada, D., & Podus, D. (2001). Meta-Analysis of HIV Risk-Reduction Interventions within Drug Abuse Treatment Programs. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69(3), 389-405.