Summaries of Research on Addiction Treatment and Recovery

Everyday, researchers publish the results of their important work surrounding many of the issues around addiction, addiction treatment, and recovery. Unfortunately, much of this research is published in proprietary journals that may be difficult for students, policymakers, patients and caregivers to access. The Recovery Research Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, regularly reviews this literature and publishes easy-to-read summaries of key research. This featured collection provides a link to the Recovery Research Institute’s webpage that hosts these summaries as well as links to several studies that may be of particular interest to CLOUD visitors.

Peer Support

This collection features resources to assist substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers, health care systems, and community organizations create and manage peer support programs.

Recovery Friendly Workplaces

Because of the far-reaching impacts of addiction, businesses have increasingly become engaged in addressing addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery for their employees. In this collection, CLOUD highlights initiatives on creating Recovery Friendly Workplaces where businesses create policies and procedures that offer support for employees working on substance use disorder treatment and recovery.

Recovery

To recognize September as National Recovery Month, CLOUD’s current featured collection centers around recovery resources. In this featured collection, CLOUD is proud to highlight these specific recovery-related topics…

Reducing Stigma Surrounding Substance Use Disorders

This collection addresses one of the most significant issues surrounding the opioid crisis: the sigma faced by people who suffer from addictions. The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine defines stigma as a range of negative attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that are associated with certain conditions such as addiction.

Addiction’s Impact on Children and Families

The opioid and addiction crises have had a significant impact on children and families, particularly those that face child welfare or dependency proceedings because of a parent’s substance use. With this collection, CLOUD features resources designed for policymakers who seek to improve care for individuals and prevent the break-up of families and resources for parents, grandparents and caregivers designed to help them support children and youth affected by parental addiction.

Substance Use Disorder Treatment in Pregnant and Parenting Women

Providing effective treatment for substance use disorder (SUD) in pregnant and parenting women is a priority for many policymakers, community leaders and clinicians. Untreated SUD can lead to harms for both mothers and their children,while providing effective treatment and recovery supports can change the trajectory for the entire family. In this collection, we place a spotlight on effective models for treating SUD in pregnant and parenting women.

COVID-19

The COVID-19 public health emergency is particularly challenging for people in treatment for substance use disorder, people in recovery, and people who use drugs. This collection features educational resources that can be adapted for local settings, specific guidance on harm reduction, recovery housing and providing peer support services during the pandemic, and links to websites that provide high-quality information, data, and/or examples for local communities to adopt.

Montefiore Health System COVID-19 Toolkit for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

Montefiore Health System created this toolkit for its prescribers and staff to manage access to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment including medications during the COVID-19 pandemic. This toolkit includes the following materials that may serve as templates for other hospital systems or clinician practices during this national emergency:

Law Enforcement Diversion Programs

This collection provides information about options to create programs that divert individuals with substance use or mental health conditions from the justice system to treatment.

1 2