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Community Medicine and Health Care
Assistant Professor (Retired)
1962 A.B., Miami University (Ohio)
1967 M.A., Miami University (Ohio)
1972 Ph.D. Stanford University
After many years as a historian at Yale University, Dr. Higgins-Biddle developed one of the nation’s first community mobilization substance abuse projects in Bridgeport, CT. He served as Executive Director of the Connecticut Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (CADAC) now the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Connecticut’s state agency responsible for substance abuse. At the UConn Health Center he managed health services research primarily on the transfer of clinical research to practical settings, including Cutting Back™, a national study of alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) in primary care settings within managed care environments, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Higgins-Biddle also serves as a consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO) to oversee the dissemination of SBI in developing countries. He is an author of numerous papers, including the WHO manuals on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and Brief Intervention. Dr. Higgins-Biddle officially retired from state service in 2003, however he continues to contribute to the Department's research mission and acts as a part-time consultant on substance use and health.
Research and program administration
Dr. Higgins-Biddle's work has focused on health services research, largely with the transfer of alcohol screening and brief intervention technology to practical applications, such as primary care and managed care settings. Other projects have included work on a federally funded Addiction Technology Transfer Center and outcomes monitoring research for state government.
Babor, TF, Higgins-Biddle, J, Dauser, D, Burleson, JA, Zarkin, GA, Bray, J (2006). Brief Interventions for At-Risk Drinking: Patient Outcomes and Cost-Effectiveness in Managed Care Organizations. Alcohol and Alcoholism , 41(6): 624-631.
Babor TF, Higgins-Biddle J, Dauser D., Higgins P, & Burleson, J Alcohol screening and brief intervention in primary care settings: Implementation models and predictors. Journal of Studies on Alcohol , 66(3):361-369, 2005.
Babor TF, Higgins-Biddle JC, Higgins PS, Gassman RA, Gould BE. Training medical providers to conduct alcohol screening and brief interventions. Subst Abus. 2004 Mar;25(1):17-26.
Zarkin GA, Bray JW, Babor TF, Higgins-Biddle JC. Alcohol drinking patterns and health care utilization in a managed care organization. Health Serv Res. 2004 Jun;39(3):553-70.
Zarkin GA, Bray JW, Davis KL, Babor TF, Higgins-Biddle JC. The costs of screening and brief intervention for risky alcohol use. J Stud Alcohol. 2003 Nov;64(6):849-57.
Babor TF, Higgins-Biddle JC, Saunders JB, and Monteiro MG. AUDIT: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Guidelines for Use in Primary Care , 2nd ed., World Health Organization, Geneva, 2001. Spanish translation, 2003. Portuguese (Brazilian) translation, 2003.
Higgins-Biddle JC. Targeting the At-Risk Drinker, Facts of Life, Issue Briefing for Health Reporters , 6(1), January, 2001.
Babor TF and Higgins-Biddle JC. Alcohol screening and brief intervention: dissemination strategies for medical practice and public health, Addiction , 95(5), 2000, pp. 677-686.
63 Hoadley Road
Bethany, CT 06524
Phone: (203) 393-1030
Email:
johnhb7@comcast.net
John Higgins-Biddle, Ph.D.