A new online service that increases the flow of information about evidence-based programs and practices designed to prevent or treat mental health problems and substance use disorders is just launched by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, SAMHSA.

A Guide to Evidence-Based Practices on the Web already features 37 sites that contain information about specific interventions or providie comprehensive reviews of research findings.

A component of SAMHSA’s Science and Service Initiative - the web guide is freely available to stakeholders throughout the behavioral health field to promote awareness of current intervention research and to increase the availability and implementation of evidence-based practices.

Other sites list programs that meet specified entry criteria; SAMHSA’s is a portal providing connections to other reliable sources. As such, it sits alongside the Blueprints for Violence Prevention database, the US Department of Education What Works Clearinghouse, the Best Evidence Encyclopedia and the Promising Practices Network.

SAMHSA is a public health agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services.