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What
is CBRS?
 The
Center for Behavioral Research and Services is a multi-function unit of
California State University, Long Beach, and is dedicated to psychosocial
research and services related to community health and social problems.
The establishment of this unit was prompted and facilitated by the 1993
merger of the CSULB-based AIDS Research and Education Project and the
Long Beach AIDS Network, a community-based HIV service organization originally
founded by the City of Long Beach's Department of Health and Human Services.
Description
The CSULB Center for Behavioral Research and Services (CBRS)
conducts social and behavioral research on health and substance-use related
issues. The focus of these studies has been on HIV risk, sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs), and understanding tobacco use among young people. CBRS
also operates programs to reduce HIV risk in historically under-served
populations.
Location
CBRS employs approximately 50 individuals and conducts
most of its activities in the Long Beach and South Bay areas of Southern
California, though it has participated in or conducted national and international
programs. Office-based activities are located in a 8,280 square foot community
facility that serves as the main administrative office, the base for outreach
activities, and a location for prevention counseling programs. CBRS also
operates a mobile unit that brings HIV testing and counseling and immune
assessment services to drug users both in and out of treatment, visiting
drug treatment programs and neighborhoods with a high prevalence of drug
abuse.
Research
& Evaluation Activities
UARP (Universitywide
AIDS Research Program)
The
purpose of this project is to increase the institutional capacity of the
Center for Behavioral Research and Services (CBRS) at California State
University, Long Beach (CSULB), to conduct HIV-prevention research with
under-researched populations of active, out-of-treatment drug users in
the Long Beach and South Bay areas. These under-researched groups include African
Americans and Latinos, who comprise 50-55% and 15-20% respectively of
the drug users we have studied in recent years. CBRS has a long-standing commitment and established track record
in the area of HIV prevention research focused on out-of-treatment drug
users, both injectors and non-injectors, and within this context, a commitment
to ethnic minorities, women, and men who have sex with men.
The
project has four primary objectives:
1. To enhance CBRS' infrastructure
to adequately support both existing and new HIV/AIDS research projects
focused on drug-using populations.
To achieve this objective, four research support cores have been
integrated into the existing structure of CBRS:
Investigator Development, Research Technology, Study Design and
Analysis, and Administration.
2.
To design and implement a mentoring program for emerging
researchers, especially minority researchers, who may be interested
in studying drug-using populations. The program focuses on application
preparation, research ethics and integrity, Institutional Review Board
issues, and management of research studies.
3.
To create pilot and other developmental research projects with
community and University research partners.
Two preliminary studies are currently in the planning and development
stage: (1) a needle-exchange program development and evaluation study
and (2) an audio-CASI data reliability and validity study.
The needle-exchange pilot study will be conducted in collaboration
with the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services (LBDHHS)
under recently approved legislation permitting local health departments
to conduct such programs.
4. To identify funding opportunities and develop competitive grant
applications focused on reducing HIV risk among active drug users
based on the results of pilot projects initiated previously as well
as prior research and current interests of CBRS researchers and research
partners. Consistent with our
commitment to develop new researchers, experienced researchers have
been paired with new researchers from the Center's mentoring program
to assist in developing their research applications.
Prevention
Services
Community
Programs for Drug Users
Our
Counseling and Food Program offers individual HIV prevention counseling
by trained staff; program participants, also IDUs, are also eligible for
our food distribution program. The Mobile HIV Testing Program provides
testing and counseling and immune assessments to both drug users in treatment
and those on the streets.
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