Kypros Kypri Earns Hazelden's Dan Anderson Research Award

CENTER CITY, Minn., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kypros Kypri, Ph.D., senior research fellow at the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle, Australia, has earned Hazelden's Dan Anderson Research Award for his development of a Web-based alcohol screening and brief intervention tool (e-SBI). Sponsored by the Butler Center for Research at Hazelden, the award honors a single published article by a researcher who has advanced the scientific knowledge of addiction treatment and recovery.

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Kypri earned the award for his study, "Randomized controlled trial of Web-based alcohol screening and brief intervention in primary care," published in a 2008 issued of the Archives of Internal Medicine (Vol. 168, pages 530-536). The study was a randomized controlled trial of Web-based alcohol screening and brief intervention among a large group of university students seeking medical help at a primary healthcare facility. The Web-based program is free and involves screening, assessment, personalized feedback about consumption levels compared with peers and medical guidelines.

"The aim of this program of work was to conduct rigorous trials of interventions that are acceptable to young hazardous drinkers and could be implemented sustainably," said Kypri. Johanna Dean, M.Sc., director and research psychologist at the research and evaluation company, Kypri & Dean Pty Ltd, nominated Dr. Kypri for the award, stating his work "exemplifies the innovation and commitment to reducing substance use problems that the Dan Anderson Award seeks to celebrate." She added, "e-SBI is less threatening to many non-treatment-seeking drinkers than a face-to-face intervention [making] it a promising approach to reducing unhealthy use of alcohol, particularly among young people who bear a heavy burden of alcohol-related harm."

Students seeking medical care at a university health center who screened positive for hazardous alcohol use were randomized to receive either e-SBI, offered on computer, or a pamphlet on the health consequences of heavy drinking. Those assigned to the e-SBI condition completed a variety of assessment questions after which they were immediately presented with personalized feedback related to their risk status and data comparing their consumption patterns with peers. The average length of completion time on the computer was nine minutes.

Six months later, those who received e-SBI reported a lower frequency of drinking, less total alcohol consumption, and fewer academic problems compared with those in the control group. At one year, e-SBI participants continued to report lower alcohol consumption and fewer academic problem behaviors relative to controls.  

"Our Scientific Panel of Advisors was impressed at the tremendous potential of Dr. Kypri's electronic screening and brief intervention to reduce harmful drinking among young people before major problems begin," said Valerie Slaymaker, Ph.D., executive director of the Butler Center for Research at Hazelden. "His work illustrates how effective quick, confidential, and electronic screening and brief intervention can be to improve health and functioning."  

Slaymaker noted that Dr. Kypri's research, and the research of others in the field, have contributed to Hazelden's ongoing development of online intervention tools.

Kypri will accept the award and a $2,000 honorarium on May 24, 2010 at the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) annual conference. The award is named for the late Dan Anderson, Ph.D., the former president of Hazelden and one of the major architects of the Minnesota Model, the interdisciplinary approach to addiction treatment that has been replicated worldwide.

Kypri's research was selected by the Scientific Panel of the Butler Center for Research as the best from among several outstanding candidates. The panel includes Slaymaker; Carlton Erickson, Ph.D., University of Texas-Austin; Lee Ann Kaskutas, Dr.PH, Alcohol Research Group, Emeryville, Calif.; James McKay, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania; Stephanie O'Malley, Ph.D., Yale University; Jon Morgenstern, Ph.D., National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, New York; and Constance Weisner, Ph.D., University of California-San Francisco.

Past award winners include Marcus Heilig, M.D., Ph.D., National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; William Fals-Stewart, Ph.D., University of Rochester, New York; Rudolph Moos, Ph.D., Department of Veterans Affairs, Palo Alto, Calif.; Reid K. Hester, Ph.D., of Behavior Therapy Associates in Albuquerque; Stephanie O'Malley, Ph.D., Yale University School of Medicine; Howard A. Liddle, Ed.D., University of Miami; Robert J. Meyers, Ph.D., University of New Mexico; Bankole Johnson, M.D., University of Texas Health Science Center; Henri Begleiter, Ph.D., State University of New York; Richard Longabaugh, Ed.D., Brown University; Dace Svikis, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University; Michael Fiore, M.D., University of Wisconsin; and Stephen T. Higgins, Ph.D., University of Vermont.

Recognizing outstanding research and conducting research of its own are the primary objectives of the Butler Center for Research, the research arm of Hazelden.

About Hazelden – Hazelden, a national nonprofit organization founded in 1949, helps people reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction. Built on decades of knowledge and experience, Hazelden offers a comprehensive approach to addiction that addresses the full range of patient, family, and professional needs, including treatment and continuing care for youth and adults, research, higher education, public education and advocacy, and publishing. It has facilities in Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, New York, and Florida. Learn more at www.hazelden.org

SOURCE Hazelden Foundation