Alcohol Alert # 69: Health Services Research

Health services research is the study of how health care is organized, managed, financed, and delivered. This Alcohol Alert focuses on the issues of access, quality of care, and cost— important aspects of alcohol health services research. In an ideal world, treatment for alcoholism and alcohol abuse would be based solely on solid scientific evidence. It would be cost-effective, would target the most appropriate care to each patient, and would result in real, measurable outcomes— such as reduced rates of alcoholism, fewer incidents of drinking and driving, and the best possible use of limited resources. In reality, though, there often is a disconnect between what is found in research and what is used in real-world treatment settings. Financial constraints, staffing issues, even a simple lack of understanding of what’s working—all can interfere with putting what is learned in the lab into clinical practice (1). Add to this the fact that millions of men and women have achieved stable recovery using treatments that are not based on empirical research, and the distance between research and practice becomes even greater. This Alert examines the challenges researchers and clinicians face when translating scientific findings into practice. It describes how research is helping to inform treat­ ment of special populations such as adolescents, women, and racial/ethnic minorities and the costs and benefits involved in providing treatment.