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UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs

Researchers' Profiles

Howard Padwa, Ph.D.

Howard Padwa, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Howard Padwa is a health services and qualitative researcher at UCLA's Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (UCLA-ISAP). He has led qualitative data collection and analyses for mixed-methods studies of mental health system transformation, behavioral health service integration, evidence-based practice implementation, and the creation of a full continuum of care for substance use disorder treatment under California's Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS) Medicaid 1115 Waiver. In addition, he has conducted historical research on drug policy in the United States and overseas, and facilitated stakeholder engagement for several projects. Currently, Dr. Padwa is leading initiatives to better understand the dynamics of homelessness in Los Angeles County, an evaluation of Proposition 64's impacts on substance use disorder treatment in California, and the creation of an online resource to facilitate the utilization of promising and evidence-based practices in youth substance use disorder treatment. He is also co-investigator on an evaluation of California’s Recovery Incentives pilot program.

  • University of Delaware, B.A., 2000, History, French, Political Science
  • University of Delaware, M.A., 2000, History
  • University of California, Los Angeles, Ph.D., 2008, History
  • University of California, Los Angeles, Post-Doctoral Training, 2010-2012, Addiction Health Services Research
  • Qualitative research
  • Implementation science
  • Patient-centered behavioral health care
  • Substance use disorder treatment systems
  • Mental health treatment systems
  • Systems transformation
  • Integration of behavioral health with other health and social services
  • History of behavioral health policy and practice
  • Padwa, H., Kaplan, C.D. 2018, Translating Science to Practice: Lessons Learned Implementing Evidence-Based Treatments in US Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 24(2), 171-182.
  • Starks, S.L., Arns, P.G., Padwa, H., Friedman, J.R., Marrow, J., Meldrum, M.L., Bromley, E., Kelly, E.L., Brekke, J.S., Braslow, J.T. 2017. System Transformation Under the California Mental Health Services Act: Implementation of Full-Service Partnerships in L.A. County. Psychiatric Services, 68(6), 587-595.
  • Padwa, H., Urada, D., Gauthier, P., Rieckmann, T., Hurley, B., Crevecouer-MacPhail, D., Rawson, R. 2016. Organizing Publicly Funded Substance Use Disorder Treatment in the United States: Moving Toward a Service System Approach. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 69, 9-18.
  • Padwa, H., Meldrum, M., Friedman, J.R., Braslow, J. 2016. A Mental Health System in Recovery: The Era of Deinstitutionalisation in California, in D. Kritsotaki, M. Smith, V. Long (eds.) Deinstitutionalisation and After: Post-War Psychiatry in the Western World (London: Palgrave-Macmillan).
  • Guerrero, E., Padwa, H., Fenwick, K., Harris, L., Aarons, G.A. 2016. Identifying and Ranking Implicit Leadership Strategies to Promote Evidence-Based Practice Implementation in Addiction Health Services. Implementation Science, 11(69).
  • Padwa, H., Teruya, C., Tran, E., Lovinger, K., Antonini, V., Overholt, C., Urada, D. 2016. Implementation of Integrated Behavioral Health Protocols in Primary Care Settings in Project Care. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 62, 74-83.
  • Evans, E., Padwa, H., Li, L., Lin, V., & Hser, Y.I. 2015. Heterogeneity of Mental Health Service Utilization and High Mental Health Service Use among Women Eight Years after Initiating Substance Use Disorder Treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 59, 10-19.
  • Padwa, H., Guerrero, E., Fenwick, K., Braslow, J. 2015. Barriers to Serving Clients with Co-Occurring Disorders in a Transformed Mental Health System. Psychiatric Services, 66(5), 547-550.
  • Guerrero, E., Padwa, H., Lengnick-Hall, R., Kong, Y., Perrigo, J. 2015. Leadership and Licensure for Drug Treatment and the Implementation of Co-Occurring Disorder Treatment in Community Mental Health Centers. Community Mental Health Journal, 51(5), 554-566.
  • Padwa H., Ni Y.-M., Barth-Rodgers Y., Arangua L., Andersen, R., Gelberg L. 2014. Barriers to Drug Use Behavior Change Among Primary Care Patients in Urban United States Community Health Centers. Substance Use and Misuse, 49(6):743-751.
  • Padwa, H., Larkins, S., Crevecoeur-MacPhail, D., Grella, C. 2013. Dual-Diagnosis Capability of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs in Southern California. Journal of Dual Diagnosis 9(2):179-186.
  • Padwa, H., Urada, D., Antonini, V., Ober, A., Crevecoeur-MacPhail, D., Rawson, R. 2012. Integrating Substance Use Disorder Services with Primary Care: The Experience in California. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 44(4):299-306.
  • Padwa, H. 2012. Social Poison: The Culture and Politics of Opiate Control in Britain and France, 1821-1926 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press)