ETSU was awarded one of seven Rural Health Research Center grants from the Health Resources and Services Administration to create the Center for Substance Misuse in Rural America.
The ETSU Addiction Science Center, the ETSU Center for Rural Health Research and the Nation Opinion Research Center’s Walsh Center for Rural Analysis partnered to compete the for the grant.
The center has decided to focus their research on a topic Appalachia has been dealing with for years: substance abuse disorder.
“We actually have the opportunity to inform national policy related to the opioid crisis and substance use disorder, more broadly,” said Michael Meit, director of research and programs for the ETSU Center for Rural Health Research. “So, that’s going to be our primary focus, and we’re really excited about that.”
Each year the center will propose five new projects, and a federal agency will approve them. They are currently waiting for approval for this year’s proposals.
Students will have a chance to get involved in the research as well, and they already have a few student volunteers and workers with them.
“It’s very important in that process to do one of the main things that the university is for, which is to train students,” said Robert Pack, associate dean of academic affairs for the college of Public Health. “And so we always have an orientation toward bringing students on board and invite any student that is interested in this topic of substance use disorder or substance use disorder in Appalachia.”
While the center is currently in its earliest stages of the project, they are eager to make an impact.
“I’m hoping, through this research, one of the things we can do is to highlight those success stories and lift up our region,” Meit said. “And show it as a model for addressing this crisis, which isn’t just happening here. It’s happening all over the country.”
