KINDBRIDGE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

IN 2023, KINDBRIDGE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (KRI) MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS ADVANCING PROGRAMS FOCUSED ON MILITARY MEMBERS AND VETERANS, A VULNERABLE GROUP THAT EXPERIENCES SIGNIFICANT HARM FROM GAMBLING AND OTHER MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS, AND GAMBLING TREATMENT AVAILABILITY IN THE US. THE MILITARY PROGRAMS INCLUDED 50X4VETS, A RESEARCH PROGRAM FOCUSED ON IMPROVING TREATMENT FOR VETERANS, AND THE MILITARY RESEARCH ASSOCIATE PROGRAM (MRAP), WHICH PROVIDES TRAINING FOR VETERANS INTERESTED IN A FUTURE CAREER IN PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH AND/OR REDUCING GAMBLING-RELATED HARM.50X4VETSTHE GOAL OF THE 50X4VETS PROGRAM IS TO ADDRESS THE LACK OF RESEARCH AND INCREASE THE RATE OF RESEARCH ON TREATMENT FOR VETERANS WITH GAMBLING DISORDER BY 50-TIMES IN THE NEXT 4 YEARS. THE 50X4VETS PROGRAM IS SPLIT BETWEEN TEAMS IN OHIO AND LAS VEGAS. EACH TEAM INCLUDES A GROUP OF ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS PARTNERED WITH TREATMENT PROVIDERS AT AND INPATIENT VA.THE OHIO/NM TEAMTHE OHIO PROJECT IS LED BY DR. JOSHUA GRUBBS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO (FORMERLY OF BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY, OHIO) IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LOUIS STOKES CLEVELAND VA MEDICAL CENTER.OHIO CENTER AIMTHE PRIMARY GOAL OF THE CENTER IS TO MAKE THE 50+ YEARS OF EXISTING PATIENT DATA, AND ONGOING DATA COLLECTION AT THE CLEVELAND VA, USABLE BY RESEARCHERS TO TEST HYPOTHESES ON PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS, CLINICAL INTERVENTIONS, AND PATIENT OUTCOMES. THE INSIGHTS PRODUCED BY THE OHIO CENTER WILL IDENTIFY THE BEST, MOST COST-EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS WHICH CAN THEN BE IMPLEMENTED IN VA CLINICS IN THE US AND ABROAD.OHIO PROGRESSIONTHE BGSU CENTER HAS COMPLETED SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES TOWARDS STATED AIMS. GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH ASSISTANTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROJECT HAVE CONTINUED THEIR WORK, WITH THE FIRST PUBLICATION COMING OUT IN THE JOURNAL ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS, AND MULTIPLE OTHER MANUSCRIPTS UNDER PREPARATION. MULTIPLE PRESENTATIONS WERE ACCEPTED TO BE PRESENTED AT THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF RESPONSIBLE GAMING AND THE UNLV INTERNATIONAL GAMING INSTITUTE CONFERENCE. THE LAS VEGAS TEAMTHE LAS VEGAS TEAM IS LED BY DR. SHANE KRAUS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA LAS VEGAS (UNLV), NEVADA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LAS VEGAS VA RESIDENTIAL RECOVERY AND RENEWAL CENTER (LVR3).LAS VEGAS CENTER AIMTHE GOAL OF THE CENTER IS TO CONDUCT FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH ON THE TREATMENT POPULATION UTILIZING THE LVR3 AND TO DESIGN AND TEST TREATMENT MODALITIES IN A REAL-WORLD SETTING. SPECIFICALLY, THE CENTER AND LVR3 WILL EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NOVEL CLINICAL TREATMENTS (E.G., PSYCHOEDUCATION, PHARMACOTHERAPY, PSYCHOTHERAPY) FOR GAMBLING DISORDER AMONG US ACTIVE-DUTY PERSONNEL AND VETERANS. THE CENTER WILL ALSO COLLABORATE AND SHARE KNOWLEDGE WITH THE OHIO CENTER. FURTHERMORE, THE CENTER WILL SERVE AS A LEADING TRAINING INSTITUTION FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS AND RESEARCHERS WHO WISH TO GAIN ADVANCED TRAINING IN GAMBLING DISORDER FOR MILITARY POPULATIONS.LAS VEGAS PROGRESSIONTHE UNLV CENTER FIRST OPENED IN THE SECOND HALF OF 2022. IN 2023, DR. KRAUS HAS CONTINUED TO HIRE STAFF AND GRADUATE STUDENTS, SET UP PROTOCOLS FOR DATA COLLECTION WITH THE LAS VEGAS VA RESIDENTIAL RECOVERY AND RENEWAL CENTER (LVR3), AND PUBLISH AND DISSEMINATED RESEARCH ON GAMBLING DISORDER AMONG VETERANS AROUND THE COUNTRY. THE TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING ON A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (RCT) OF EXTENDED-RELEASE NALTREXONE IN VETERANS WITH GAMBLING DISORDER AND OTHER COMORBID SUBSTANCE ABUSE. THE RCT DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION, AND INITIAL DATA COLLECTION HAVE BEEN COMPLETED. THE MILITARY RESEARCH ASSOCIATE PROGRAM (MRAP)KINDBRIDGE RESEARCH INSTITUTE'S (KRI) MILITARY RESEARCH ASSOCIATE PROGRAM (MRAP) ASSISTS VETERANS TRANSITIONING FROM MILITARY SERVICE TO ADVANCED TRAINING IN MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT AND RESEARCH.MRAP PROGRESSIONIN THE SECOND YEAR OF THE PROGRAM, THREE NEW RECRUITS JOINED THE MRAP PROGRAM. KRI WENT THROUGH THE CURRICULUM AND ULTIMATELY ASSISTED WITH SCHOOL APPLICATIONS RESULTING IN ADMISSION INTO TOP TIER ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS. FOR MRA GALEN JONES, THAT SCHOOL WAS YALE, WHILE FOR MAKINNA OLMSTEAD, IT WAS THE UNIFORMED HEALTH SERVICES UNIVERSITY. DURING THIS TIME, MRAS WERE GIVEN THE CHANCE TO PRESENT POSTERS AT THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING CONFERENCE IN LAS VEGAS, AND TO GIVE A TALK AT THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON PROBLEM GAMBLING'S CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON DC.

PROJECT 1: STRATEGIC APPROACHES TO GAMBLING EXPANSION: A REVIEW OF GAMBLING TREATMENT QUALITY AND AVAILABILITY IN COLORADO (STEGD)STEGD PURPOSE:THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRANT WAS TO CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF COLORADO'S MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT DISPARITIES IN RELATION TO GAMBLING DISORDER (GD) AND CREATE AN IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY FOR GAMBLING DISORDER TREATMENT ACROSS THE STATE.STEGD EVALUATION: THE STRATEGIC APPROACHES TO GAMBLING EXPANSION PROJECT IN COLORADO HAS ACHIEVED SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES IN ASSESSING GAMBLING TREATMENT QUALITY AND AVAILABILITY STATE WIDE. MILESTONE 1 SUCCESSFULLY MAPPED THE CURRENT TREATMENT LANDSCAPE, DETAILING THE LOCATIONS OF GAMBLING DISORDER (GD) TREATMENT FACILITIES, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON RURAL AREAS.BUILDING ON THIS FOUNDATION, MILESTONES 2 AND 3 CONDUCTED IN-DEPTH ANALYSES OF HEALTHCARE FACILITIES' READINESS TO ADDRESS GD AND INTEGRATED SOCIO-ECONOMIC VARIABLES INTO THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS. THESE MILESTONES PROVIDED A COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE FACTORS INFLUENCING TREATMENT ACCESSIBILITY AND QUALITY.WITH ALL MILESTONES NOW COMPLETE, MILESTONE 4 HAS VISUALIZED THE COLLECTED DATA TO INFORM PUBLIC HEALTH STRATEGIES AND RESOURCE ALLOCATION, ENABLING COLORADO'S LEADERSHIP TO ADDRESS DISPARITIES EFFECTIVELY. ADDITIONALLY, AS PART OF MILESTONE 5 WE HAVE DEVELOPED A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC ROADMAP FOR A 5-YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, INTEGRATING PUBLIC POLICY AND HEALTH INITIATIVES AND ENGAGING STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS THE STATE.OVERALL, THE PROJECT'S SYSTEMATIC APPROACH HAS EFFECTIVELY TACKLED GAMBLING DISORDER TREATMENT COMPLEXITIES IN COLORADO, ENHANCING ACCESSIBILITY AND QUALITY FOR AFFECTED INDIVIDUALS ACROSS THE STATE.STEGD IMPACT:THE STRATEGIC APPROACHES TO GAMBLING EXPANSION PROJECT CAN HAVE A PROFOUND IMPACT ON GAMBLING TREATMENT QUALITY AND AVAILABILITY IN COLORADO. BY METICULOUSLY MAPPING THE TREATMENT LANDSCAPE AND CONDUCTING IN-DEPTH ANALYSES OF HEALTHCARE FACILITIES, THE PROJECT HAS IDENTIFIED KEY AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT AND INFORMED TARGETED INTERVENTIONS. THIS COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH HAS NOT ONLY ENHANCED TREATMENT ACCESSIBILITY BUT ALSO ADDRESSED SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS INFLUENCING GAMBLING DISORDER (GD) TREATMENT OUTCOMES. WITH THE VISUALIZATION OF COLLECTED DATA AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STRATEGIC ROADMAP, AND THE CREATION OF A 5-YEAR STRATEGIC ROADMAP, COLORADO'S LEADERSHIP IS NOW EQUIPPED TO DEPLOY PUBLIC HEALTH STRATEGIES AND RESOURCES EFFECTIVELY, ENSURING EQUITABLE ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY TREATMENT ACROSS THE STATE. OVERALL, THE PROJECT'S SYSTEMATIC EFFORTS HAVE PAVED THE WAY FOR SIGNIFICANT ADVANCEMENTS IN ADDRESSING GAMBLING EXPANSION CHALLENGES AND IMPROVING OUTCOMES FOR INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY GD IN COLORADO.