The University of California Los Angeles' Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP) is working to establish a Center of Excellence on Substance Abuse Services at Baghdad's Medical City Complex, with the aid of a grant awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). The Iraqi Ministry of Health (MOH) supports the Iraq Drug Demand Reduction Initiative's efforts on accomplishing five primary objectives: planning and project management, clinical services development, integration of substance abuse into primary care, epidemiological data collection, and development of research capacity.

For more information, please visit:  http://www.uclaisap.org/iraq/

Iraq National Survey Project

UCLA ISAP and the University Research Center (URC)’s Center for Human Services (CHS) are working closely with the Iraqi Ministry of Health (MOH), Iraqi Society for Addiction Medicine (IRSAM), the Iraqi Community Epidemiology Work Group, and other stakeholders at national and local levels to design and implement a survey to assess substance abuse in Iraq. This study is funded by the US State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
The study’s main objectives are to:

• Compile demographic data on the incidence of licit and illicit drug use,
• Identify factors that contribute to drug and alcohol abuse,
• Identify emerging trends and patterns of drug use,
• Identify social disincentives to acknowledging drug use, and
• Identify the national drug use prevalence rate for the country and each governorate.

The potential uses for this data are vast, but project’s objective is to assist policymakers and treatment providers in designing appropriate interventions and provide a more comprehensive profile of substance abuse patterns. The survey results will be fed back to the MOH and other stakeholders for consensus building on policy and programmatic issues to reduce substance abuse in the country.

Key Activities

• Phase 1 (months 1–3): Design study (develop survey methodology, develop survey instruments and tools, and field test them)
• Phase 2 (months 4–5): Recruit and train Iraqi staff and field test instruments
• Phase 3 (months 6–18): Conduct survey
• Phase 4 (months 19–24): Compile survey results, complete data analysis, prepare and present final report, and support national policy and programmatic strategy development

For additional information, please visit:
http://www.urc-chs.com/project?ProjectID=274