Harm Reduction Technology
Registration Open
Brown University Distance Learning Program is offering a credited, on-line course on harm reduction.
Harm reduction is a public health approach to substance abuse and addictions that focuses on minimizing the risks associated with drug use, whether the drug use itself is reduced or not. Widely accepted around the world, harm reduction has not been as readily accepted in the United States. This course will examine the history and philosophy of harm reduction, as well as major examples of practical applications.
Instructor
David F. Duncan, Dr. P.H. is President of Duncan & Associates, a consulting firm providing consultation on research design and data collection for behavioral and policy studies. He is also Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health at Brown University School of Medicine. His education included an undergraduate major in psychology, with minors in sociology and education at the University of Missouri at Kansas City , and graduate work in criminology at Sam Houston State University in Texas . He earned the degree of Doctor of Public Health from the University of Texas at Houston with an interdisciplinary program in behavioral sciences, epidemiology, biostatistics, and program and policy evaluation. He earned a postdoctoral diploma in alcoholism early intervention and treatment effectiveness research from Brown University . He has over thirty year’s experience in the substance abuse field, including direct service provision and direction of treatment and rehabilitation services.
Course Objectives
- Define harm reduction and discuss the differing philosophies reflected by variations in the definition of the term.
- Discuss how harm reduction may variously be conceived of as primary, secondary, or tertiary prevention.
- Define low threshold treatment, stepped entry into treatment, and client-directed treatment.
- Discuss how "canalization" is intended to prevent "hard" drug use.
- Discuss how harm reduction oriented drug education might differ from traditional drug education approaches.
Course Requirements
This is a four-week course requirements are:
- Required on-line reading (one hour per week)
- Completion of pre and post test
- Completion of weekly homework assignments (one hour per week)
- Participation in the weekly course forum
- Completion of an on-line course evaluation
*Please note that there are no real time events associated with this course. Lessons will be posted on the class home page on Tuesday and responses are due the following Monday. With the exception of the first weeks lesson which will be posted Monday with the responses due the following Monday. Assignments can be accessed at the participant's convenience.
A full refund is available up until the posting of the second lesson, after which there will be no refunds.
Accredation
This four-week course, has been approved by the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) for 8 educational credits. It is being provided by the Brown Distance Learning program, which is accredited as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider (#000151). This course meets the qualifications for 8 hours of continuing education credit for MFCC's and/or LCSW's as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (PCE#1917). This course is approved by the The Brown DIstance Learning Program is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Brown Distance Learning Program maintains responsibility for this program and its content. (CCB) for eight Category 1 continuing education for Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselors (CADC's). The CCB is an IC&RC affiliate. The New York State OASAS does accept distance learning CEUs provided by institutions of higher learning for individuals pursuing or renewing a CASAC, CPP or CPS. Certificates will be mailed within two weeks to participants in the program for its duration who submit all required materials.
The Brown DIstance Learning Program is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Brown Distance Learning Program maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Please contact your local certification board to verify reciprocity or acceptance of Brown Distance Learning contact hours.
To participate, you must have:
- An E-mail address and the capacity to retrieve and send E-mail;
- Access to World Wide Web (the following programs provide WWW access: Netscape, Apple CyberDog, and Microsoft Explorer)
- Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher is the preferred browser for Brown DLP online courses
- The ability to navigate the World Wide Web
- A basic understanding of how to use a computer and send and receive email
PLEASE NOTE NETWORK AND COMPUTER TECHNICAL SUPPORT WILL NOT BE PROVIDED.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: The course start date or when the course limit is reached.
To register for this course please log into your account or create your account then log into your account and click the Enroll in a New Course link at the bottom of your account page. On the Enrollment page select the course you wish to register for using the pull down menu and click on the enroll button. Having enrolled into the course you will be prompted for payment. You may make your payment online or by regular mail. To view payment information please use the payment policies.
For a list of current Brown University Distance Learning courses, please go to the following site:
http://www.browndlp.org/. Please Bookmark this site for future references. Course announcements will be made via the Brown University Online Course Announcement Listserve 6-8 weeks prior to the start of each course. If you would like to be subscribed to this list, please contact Monte Bryant, Program Administrator, at Monte Bryant, or (401) 863-6606.

