Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice faculty, is collaborating with faculty in other UAA units in conducting a community behavioral health needs assessment. The UAA research team will analyze data from the assessment to help determine behavioral health priorities concerning mental health, substance use, and suicide for youth and young adults in Anchorage.
The UAA Center for Human Development heads the research team which includes the Justice Center, Behavioral Health Research Services, and the Department of Health Sciences. The project is funded by the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Behavioral Health through the Anchorage Collaborative Coalitions (ACC) which contracted with the UAA research team.
The first phase of the project involves examining existing secondary data; the second phase will involve collection of primary data that fills identified data gaps. The team is nearing completion of the first phase of the project. A presentation is scheduled to be held at UAA on May 11 to present to the community results from the analysis of secondary data.
