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.
Notably, each summary produced by the Institute includes detailed descriptions of the problem the study seeks to address, the methods used in the research, what the study found, and the implication of the findings for real world implementation. Each summary also includes a discussion of the bottom line and how the study’s findings may affect individuals and families seeking treatment and recovery, treatment professionals and the treatment system, researchers and scientists, and policymakers.
This collection includes:
- A link to the research webpage at the Recovery Research Institute’s website and links to the following research summaries:
- A study that examined the feasibility of incorporating medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder into traditional 12-step treatment programs
- An economic analysis that estimated the societal burden of the opioid crisis at $1 trillion
- A study that looked at how the language we use to talk about addiction and people who use substances can contribute to stigmatizing attitudes
- A geospatial modeling analysis that explored whether expanding the types of treatment settings allowed to provide methadone for opioid use disorder would improve access to evidence-based treatment, and
- A study that evaluated whether an automated smart-phone based contingency management (CM) program could reduce barriers to providing CM in substance use disorder treatment settings and/or improve patient treatment retention and outcomes
The research summaries included here are just a small sample of the summaries available on the Recovery Research Institute’s website. CLOUD encourages our audience to visit their research page regularly as new research summaries are frequently added.
Summaries of Addiction Treatment and Recovery Research
Source: Recovery Research Institute
This webpage from the Recovery Research Institute provides summaries of proprietary peer-reviewed research studies on issues related to addiction treatment and recovery from substance use disorders.
Integrating Medications for Opioid Use Disorder into a 12-step Treatment Program
Source: Recovery Research Institute
Traditional 12-step, abstinence based substance use disorder treatment programs have generally rejected the use of medication assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD). The Recovery Research Institute provides a plain-language summary of research that looked at whether it was possible to incorporate MAT into the treatment services offered by a leading 12-step oriented treatment facility.
The Societal Burden of the Opioid Crisis Estimated at Trillion in 2017
Source: Recovery Research Institute
This plain language summary breaks down a peer-reviewed study that estimated the societal burden of the opioid crisis at $1 trillion.
The Real Stigma of Substance Use Disorders: Does it Matter How We Talk About People with Substance Use Disorder?
Source: Recovery Research Institute
This web page summarizes a study that looked at the effects of language on attitudes towards people who use substances. The study offered participants two descriptions of individuals — a person who was a “substance abuser” or a person who “had a substance use disorder” – and then asked several questions about the participant’s impressions of these persons.
A State Policy Option to Expanding Methadone: Utilize Federally Qualified Health Centers
Source: Recovery Research Institute
In 2019, the state of Ohio passed legislation that allowed for alternative treatment settings for methadone delivery, including Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), prisons, jails and county health departments. The Recovery Research Institute prepared this plain language summary of a peer-reviewed study that looked at the effect implementation of the Ohio policy would have on expanding access to treatment.
Automated Contingency Management Using Smartphones May Reduce Barriers and Improve Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
Source: Recovery Research Institute
This webpage provides a summary of a pilot study that examined whether use of an automated contingency management program improved treatment outcomes for people receiving outpatient treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD).