Top Research Paper Honors for School of Public Health Professor
Study by Richard Saitz raises doubts about effectiveness of brief doctor’s office interventions in curbing unhealthy drug use
Richard Saitz, professor and chair of the department of community health sciences at the School of Public Health (SPH), has won the top published research paper award from the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM).
Saitz is lead author on a study published in Journal of the American Medical Association that casts doubts on the effectiveness of brief doctor’s office interventions in stemming unhealthy drug use among patients. The paper notes that while the practice of screenings and interventions has received substantial support, there has been little analysis of its efficacy.
Saitz will be formally recognized at the 2015 SGIM Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, on April 25.
The study reflects Saitz’s primary areas of expertise and research, which include unhealthy alcohol and drug use, integrating substance-related and general health care, and improving the quality of care for people with addictions across the spectrum of use, particularly in general medical care settings.
His other studies have helped influence how doctors treat alcohol withdrawal, explored how simple questionnaires can identify unhealthy alcohol and drug use, and considered ways that research findings can be used most effectively in the practice of medicine.
First awarded in 2000, the SGIM Best Research Paper honor is designed to help the society’s members gain recognition for papers that have made significant contributions to research. SGIM is a national medical society of the primary internal medicine faculty of every medical school and major teaching hospital in the United States. SGIM members teach medical students, residents, and fellows how to care for adult patients, and also conduct research that improves primary care, preventative measures, and treatment services for patients.
Besides Saitz, SPH researchers on the study include: Judith Bernstein, professor of community health sciences; Debbie Cheng, professor of biostatistics; Christine Chaisson, research assistant professor of biostatistics; Jeffrey Samet, professor of community health sciences; Seville Meli, CHS director of research operation; and Christine A. Lloyd-Travaglini, statistical manager for the BU Data Coordinating Center.