general Bonds.

general Bonds, Common Progress

The sum of two units key components of the alcohol field, as in any field of medicine, are research and practice. In theory, alcohol researchers ask knowledge about alcohol-related health conditions, and practitioners use this knowledge to help their patients to retrieve In practice, however, we repeatedly find that alcohol researchers and alcohol practitioners travel in sum of two units largely unrelated circles; they speak different languages, attend different meetings, and generally view problems--and their solutions--from real different perspectives. The researcher is be of importance toed with the rigors of scientific methodology; the practitioner is belong toed with the demands of daily patient care. on the same level though both are concerned with outcomes these are more often than not viewed as [i]finale[/i]s unto themselves rather than as the means to a for the use of all goal--to reduce the burden of alcohol-related problems

This so-called gap between alcohol researcher and practitioner is unfortunate and unnecessary. It is also not everyday to other fields of medicine, where clinical specialists assume that research will provide more and improved treatments for the diseases and conditions for which they are responsible. This assumption is built into the fabric of clinical life, from medical instruct throughout the medical career.

In our field, however, because treatment grew public of a nonmedical tradition, there is still a widespread belief that research has little to contribute to treatment. This belief persists despite the fact that many clinicians still use the tools and techniques that were bring to maturityed some 50 years ago, during the earliest days of alcohol treatment. over and above these same 50 years have seen significant and sometimes dramatic progres in the treatment of other illnesses as a outcome of research activity. Had research been an integral part of the alcohol field during this time, we could have reached the point where treatment of alcohol use question at issues was an accepted part of medical care, just as heart disease is now commonly treated with beta blocker and in consequence of reduced cholesterol intake, both effects of research.

Bridging the gap between alcohol research and practice is challenging. It is also necessary, given the unabating drain of alcohol-related riddles on the health, and onward the social and economic well-being, of our Nations's race Alcohol researchers and practitioners alike must understand that they are pair sides of the same coin; the pair are critical to the alcohol field, and each can learn from the other. Researchers, for example, ne the observations of clinicians that will help them to form testable hypotheses; clinicians ne the issues of research to improve their patients' chances for a fortunate outcome.

How do we link research and practice? the same way is to make relevant research findings available to practitioners, in formats that are useful to busy treatment personnel whose daily patient responsibilities frequently preclude them from scouring journal articles or from performing extensive literature searches. All publications of the National Institute onward Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), so as Alcohol Health & Research World and Alcohol Alert, research monographs and other special reports, pres meeting for consultations and research presentations to a variety of lay audiences, are designed to disseminate the conclusions of research to the user community.

Another way to link research and practice is exemplified on the November 1990 meeting, "Linking Alcoholism Treatment with Clinical Practice," sponsored on the NIAAA Division of Clinical and Prevention Research, and the special focus of this issue of Alcohol Health & Research World. Unlike meetings in which information exchange is one-way--for example, meetings at which research findings are at handed to clinical audiences--this meeting was structur to elicit two-way communication. Researchers and practitioners shared their perspectives upon selected alcohol treatment topics, as it was as assessment, psychological testing, and monitoring treatment outcomes; relapse prevention; and treatment approaches and treatment matching. In sharing their perspectives, I believe the participants perform the operations indicated ined a better idea not sole of the issues involved in the same another's spheres of activity, on the contrary of ways in which research can support practice and practice can support research, as it should be. Although this is a beginning, it is a dutiful beginning. I hope that the spirit of this meeting, as captured in this issue of Alcohol Health & Research World, will assist as a model for other activities designed to bring research and practice into a often met with fold.

Dr. Richard Fuller Dr John Allen, Dr Fulton Caldwell, and other members of the NIAAA Division of Clinical and Prevention Research are to be eulogizeed for their efforts in convening this important meeting. The editorial staff of Alcohol Health & Research World also be entitled to thanks for their efforts to bring this meeting and its issues to the attention of a wider audience. principally of all, the scientists and clinicians who participated in this meeting be worthy of our special thanks for their willingness to help shape what I trustful longing will be a model for what may occur hereafter research and practice collaborations.

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