Optimizing the Quality, Reach, and Impact of Addiction Services

Overview

The Research Need

Interventions to prevent and treat opioid use disorder and overdose are only valuable if they are useful and effective in real-world settings. Barriers include stigma, provider awareness, and other health care system problems. 

About the Program 

This program supports action-oriented research to accelerate the translation of research to practice. The research focuses on identifying barriers and strengths at the levels of individuals, communities, and health care systems. It supports implementation science, hybrid implementation/effectiveness trials, and dissemination studies to improve the quality of care for all people with addiction. 

The program also supports research to create feasible, efficient quality measurement and management systems. These systems will help clinicians and programs improve, as well as facilitate the ability of patients, families, and payors to compare and select qualified health care providers. The research also aims to expand care for opioid use disorder through innovative service delivery models tailored to individuals who have been victims of violence, through targeted service settings and screening for post-traumatic stress disorder.  

This research addresses staffing shortages, emotional stressors in this workforce, workforce diversity, and disparities in care by promoting recruitment, training, and retention of behavioral health professionals.  

Research Examples

Research examples supported by this program include:  

  • Developing strategies that seek to enhance uptake of evidence-based practices by providers 
  • Identifying and evaluating dissemination strategies for evidence-based treatment for opioid use and co-occurring mental health conditions or pain in a variety of settings 
  • Exploring changes and variations in service delivery environments that may affect delivery of high-quality, patient-centered services 
  • Developing and testing methods to adjust for patient complexity such that different providers can be fairly compared 
  • Implementing state-of-the-art data collection and analysis technologies to improve the quality and timeliness of data 
  • Developing and validating interventions to reduce behavioral health practitioners’ emotional stressors, such as burnout or compassion fatigue 
  • Developing resources to provide training to practitioners in various settings 
  • Tailoring and testing screening strategies for post-traumatic stress disorder  
  • Comparing the effectiveness of combined treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and opioid use disorder simultaneously or sequentially 

  • City College of New York – New York 
  • Clemson University – South Carolina 
  • Friends Research Institute – Pennsylvania
  • Geisinger Medical Center – Pennsylvania 
  • Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis – Indiana 
  • University of Arizona – Arizona 
  • University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences – Arkansas 
  • University of Texas at Austin – Texas 
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison – Wisconsin 
  • Yale University – Connecticut 

Funded Projects

2023
Implementing a Patient Navigation Intervention Across a Health System to Address Treatment Entry Inequities
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Nov 28, 2023
2023
ADAPT: Adaptive Decision Support for Addiction Treatment
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Nov 28, 2023
2023
Person-Centered Quality Measurement and Management in a System for Addictions Treatment in New York State
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Nov 28, 2023
2023
Onsite PTSD Treatment to Improve MOUD Outcomes (OPTIMO): A Hybrid Type 1 Effectiveness-Implementation Trial of Harm Reduction PTSD Care at Syringe Service Programs
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Nov 28, 2023
2023
Improving Quality and Equity of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Using a Multi-State Medicaid Research Network
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Nov 28, 2023

Open Funding Opportunities

2023
ADAPT: Adaptive Decision Support for Addiction Treatment
Summary
Summary
Nov 28, 2023
2023
Data-Driven Approaches for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment, Recovery, and Overdose Prevention in Rural Communities via Mobile Health Clinics and Peer Support Services
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Nov 28, 2023
2023
Developing and Testing Innovative Care Pathways for Screening and Treatment of OUD/PTSD in Jails
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Nov 28, 2023
2023
Evaluation of a Peer Recovery Support Program Adapted to Target Retention in Clinic-Based Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
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Nov 28, 2023
2023
HEAL Initiative: Research to Foster an Opioid Use Disorder Treatment System Patients Can Count On
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Summary
Nov 28, 2023

Contact

Quality Initiative: Sarah Duffy, Ph.D., NIDA

Translation to Practice: Carrie Mulford, Ph.D., NIDA

Participating NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices

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