Associate Professor Goodman Sibeko, MBChB, PhD serves as Head of Addiction Psychiatry at the University of Cape Town. His work has focused on interventions using non-specialist workers in the management of severe mental illness, and he has a developing research portfolio focused on task-sharing models for the treatment of harmful substance use, mental health and HIV. He serves as Director of the South Africa International Technology Transfer Centre, and as Steering Committee Member for ISSUP South Africa and ICUDDR South Africa.
Abstract
Assessing Needs to Design Context-Specific Technology Transfer: The ITTC Network Approach
The International Technology Transfer Center (ITTC) Network for drug demand reduction develops and strengthens the workforce, organizations, and systems that provide substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery services. ITTCs employ an array of technology transfer strategies, grounded in implementation science and harmonized by an International Coordinating Office, to achieve goals. One critical ITTC strategy is a comprehensive needs assessment that consists of four phases: describe the current drug use situation in a country or region, map where substance use services are provided, identify gaps in services, and detail training and consultation needs. Within this common approach to needs assessment, each ITTC must make decisions about how to conduct the needs assessment in a way that is relevant to the context of that country. In this oral presentation, a panel of ITTC directors from four to five countries will explain their approach to needs assessment, why they took a specific approach, what information they gathered, and how that information is being used to design strategies that will advance evidence-based interventions and policies in their country. Common themes that have been uncovered across all ITTC needs assessments will be featured.