The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has developed the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices, a searchable online registry of proven mental health and substance abuse interventions that have been reviewed and rated by independent reviewers and SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence Based Programs and Practices http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/. The approaches they have identified for preventing and treating mental health and substance abuse disorders have been scientifically tested and are ready for use. This new registry is expected to grow considerably with new interventions summaries continually being added. The registry allows user to search for interventions that target, among other things, certain gender, age groups, race/ethnic groups, or that can be used in an urban or rural setting, or that are public or proprietary.

The MCH Information Resource Center, funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), did a conference series on contextual analysis to explain disparities in health outcomes. Although the series was completed several months ago, links are available on the web to allow anyone who wants to understand multi-level or contextual analysis methods to participate in the series on their own time schedule. Epidemiologists and statisticians interested in multi-level or contextual analysis methods may find this series helpful. It is archived at: http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/mchirc/dataspeak/paste vent.htm

The series focuses on preterm birth and infant mortality, but the information presented can be used to understand how to do any type of contextual analysis. Each program in the series features one of several university-based researchers funded by MCHB in the Health Resources and Services Administration to explore the effect of neighborhoods on our country's relatively high infant mortality rate as compared to other industrialized countries and wide racial disparities in infant mortality and preterm birth.

The series provides public health professionals with background and knowledge of concepts and statistical analysis techniques to begin developing and adapting the approach to their specific States and communities. The first program presents an overview of contextual analysis, including discussion of how neighborhoods are defined, sources of data available at the neighborhood level, and how neighborhood conditions can affect health. The second program describs several different multilevel analysis techniques, their advantages and disadvantages, examples of their use for the analysis of preterm birth data, and the interpretation of statistical results. This third program includes real-world examples of analyses from MHCB-funded research sites, describes resources needed to implement these types of analyses, and identifies the varied potential uses of multilevel modeling other than preterm birth and low birth weight.

IThis link includes archives of other talks hosted by MHCB that are of interest to maternal, child, and adolescent health professionals.