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Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Commentary: Research on Recovery Residences is Critical
By TRI_Amy A. Mericle PhD_Jennifer Miles BA_John Cacciola PhD | November 27, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Community Related, Recovery & Research
For many in recovery, hard-fought gains are often jeopardized by precarious living arrangements or untenable housing. Recovery residences, like recovery homes, sober living houses, and Oxford HousesTM represent an important component in the continuum of care for substance use disorders. Unfortunately, recovery residences, particularly recovery homes, are understudied in scientific literature and are often regarded with skepticism by community members. Without published research, licensed professionals, policymakers and potential funders will continue to question the legitimacy of recovery residences and peer-based recovery.
With funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, scientists at the Treatment Research Institute seek to fill this critical gap in the literature by studying recovery homes in Philadelphia. The city is ideal to study recovery homes because it has a high concentration: more than 250 privately funded recovery homes, 18 homes that receive funding from Philadelphia’s Office of Addiction Services (OAS), and several others that receive funding through SAMHSA’s Access to Recovery program.
Although data collection has been underway for only a few months, several important themes have emerged:
1. Recovery home operators are willing to participate in research. Despite the unpredictable nature of their busy schedules, site contacts have been extremely accommodating and have graciously welcomed research staff into their homes. They understand the necessity of research data in promoting the legitimacy of recovery homes and peer-based recovery.
2. Although site contacts have been welcoming and supportive of this research, we have encountered barriers because there is no central registry of recovery homes, and the recovery home landscape in Philadelphia changes frequently with homes closing and opening, or changing names, ownership or target population.
3. Despite not being considered formal “treatment providers,” recovery homes operate in a highly structured and therapeutically oriented manner. These homes have a number of rules and expectations for residents, and provide basic as well as a variety of recovery-oriented services, all at a modest cost to residents. All of the homes interviewed performed drug testing, and over half mandated involvement in AA/NA and/or substance abuse treatment. Residents had curfews, were expected to do chores and typically lived in shared sleeping quarters.
4. Although site contacts were stoic in discussing the challenges they face, many cited stigma from the community as a hindrance to home operation. To counter this stigma, many of the homes participated in community engagement activities, (e.g., litter abatement), which they felt fostered good neighbor practices and positively affected the attitudes of surrounding neighbors. Financial hardship was also cited as an impediment, but most operators found ways to overcome these obstacles, and remained hopeful in continuing to run their homes.
5. Finally, recovery home operators do what they do to help others in recovery, which often comes from a very personal place. Although they had varying levels of education and came from diverse professional backgrounds, nearly all were in recovery themselves. Often having come through the home they now operate, site contacts mentioned a sense of dedication to the program, stating “[t]his place saved my life.”
The findings from this study are preliminary, but we hope this work will raise awareness about the potentially critical role of recovery homes in meeting the needs of those in recovery and lead to future research. It is important to learn how these residences promote recovery and where they fit in the continuum of care for substance use disorders, and to identify factors that contribute to their sustainability. Data on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness may allow us to say more about the essential services and value these homes provide to supporting those in recovery.
Amy A. Mericle, PhD, Jennifer Miles, BA, & John Cacciola, PhD
The writers are researchers in the Center on the Continuum of Care at the Philadelphia-based Treatment Research Institute (TRI), an independent, non-profit research and development organization dedicated to developing evidence-based solutions to the problems of substance use affecting families, schools, businesses, courts and healthcare.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Detox Center Can Be As Good As Emergency Room for Some Drunk Patients
By Join Together Staff | November 26, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol, Research & Treatment
Some inebriated people picked up by emergency medical service ambulance crews can be treated effectively at a detoxification center, instead of an emergency room (ER), according to a new study. Increasing the use of such centers could reduce costs and lessen crowding of emergency rooms, the researchers note.
“Widespread use of this type of protocol has the potential to provide significant financial savings for the U.S. health care system,” lead author David Ross said in a news release. “This population is very frequently transported to the ER by EMS or police, consuming a disproportionate share of resources and contributing to ER overcrowding. A detoxification center is a good alternative to the ER for certain intoxicated patients who just need an appropriately staffed facility to ‘dry out.’ Our research suggests that EMS personnel can identify patients who are safe for this alternative destination.”
The researchers estimate that in 2004, ER visits by people whose only medical issue was inebriation cost about $900 million, Reuters reports.
Ross and colleagues created a checklist with 29 yes-or-no questions for ambulance crews. These questions included whether the patient is cooperating with the ambulance worker’s exam, and if the patient is willing to go to the detox center. If the ambulance worker checked “no” on any question, the patient was sent to the ER.
The researchers evaluated the outcome of 718 inebriated patients transported by ambulance workers who used the checklist.
The workers brought 138 to detox centers, and the rest went to the local ER. The detox center had a 24-hour nurse and technicians, who could consult by phone with a physician’s assistant and a psychiatrist. They found four patients at the detox center were taken to the ER because of minor complications, but no serious complications were reported.
The findings are published in Annals of Emergency Medicine.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Commentary: Facebook: “Liking” the Benefits of Health Behavior Interventions
By Dr. Nathan Cobb | November 20, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Addiction, Healthcare & Tobacco
This month Facebook announced that it had reached one billion active users. Not one billion accounts or registrants, but one billion individuals using the website every month. Of these approximately 200 million are in the U.S. and Canada – a staggering number. Each one of the users is connected to hundreds of their friends, actively exchanging information, sharing photos and news and even playing games together.
Two studies published at the same time in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggest that Facebook can do more. It can be used to deliver evidence-based health behavior interventions. Particularly interesting was the study by Sheanna Bull and colleagues where they used Facebook with youth to increase condom use and potentially prevent sexually transmitted diseases. Not only did their randomized control trial show that it’s possible to build an effective intervention within Facebook, but they also showed that a well-designed intervention will spread from friend to friend more efficiently than something that lacks interest or utility.
Taken together, these facts suggest that we may be on the cusp of a tremendous change in how we deliver health behavior interventions. An intervention that can reach people where they live and work, but can also involve and spread through their own social network, would have tremendous impact. An accompanying editorial that I wrote with Dr. Amanda Graham lays out some of this potential. But equally important, here at Legacy we have similar work underway, including a randomized control trial funded by the National Cancer Institute to evaluate how a Facebook app may spread through a quitter’s network and involve their friends.
We think that health behavior change interventions in the future will be inherently social, leveraging the Internet to involve your friends, family and co-workers, but also exposing you to people you have never met. What role Facebook will ultimately play is unknown, but as of today, the future is incredibly exciting.
Dr. Nathan Cobb
Nathan Cobb, MD, is a Research Investigator at the Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies at Legacy®, a practicing physician, and expert in the field of behavioral informatics. His prior work as a smoking cessation counselor and computer programmer for health risk assessments were a springboard for the development of QuitNet, one of the first Internet based behavior change interventions. Dr. Cobb’s current work leverages social networks to effect behavior change through social support and social influence. This includes both retrospective exploration of a 10 year database of interactions of participants in the QuitNet network, as well as novel interventions using social utilities such as Facebook and alternative delivery mechanisms such as text messaging.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Study Links Marijuana Psychosis With Genetic Variation
By Join Together Staff | November 21, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs & Research
A new study suggests a specific genetic variation may increase the risk of developing marijuana-related psychosis. Researchers found people with the variation were twice as likely to develop a psychotic disorder when using marijuana. The risk increased up to sevenfold if they used marijuana daily, Health Day reports.
The findings could help lead to new treatments for marijuana-induced psychosis, the researchers say.
In the journal Biological Psychiatry, they note evidence is increasing that marijuana use during the teenage years may increase the risk of developing schizophrenia. Their study of more than 700 people found marijuana-related psychosis was linked with a variation in the AKT1 gene. The gene is involved in the regulation of the brain chemical dopamine, which plays an important role in mental health, the article notes.
“Our findings help to explain why one cannabis user develops psychosis while his friends continue smoking without problems,” the researchers from King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry note in a news release.
A study published last year suggested marijuana may accelerate the onset of psychotic disorders in some young users. Researchers conducted a review of the literature examining the effects of marijuana, alcohol, and other drugs on the onset of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. They found patients with psychotic disorders who smoked marijuana at an early age developed symptoms almost three years sooner than those who did not. The link was strongest among those who started smoking at ages 12 to 15 or younger.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Alphahouse Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
About AlphaHouse
Alpha
House, Inc. provides help and hope for substance abusers through a
variety of programs that use a “whole person” approach to help addicts
and alcoholics change their lifestyle. We have been changing lives
since 1970, long before medical models realized the need. We have
proactively responded to decades of change and continue to be a
innovative leader in treating substance abuse.
Our firm but loving therapeutic community provides inpatient and outpatient services that combine therapy with education, work, peer interaction, family involvement and community service.
At Alpha House, we believe that highly motivated addicts and alcoholics can change their lives and we are dedicated to teaching them how.
Our firm but loving therapeutic community provides inpatient and outpatient services that combine therapy with education, work, peer interaction, family involvement and community service.
At Alpha House, we believe that highly motivated addicts and alcoholics can change their lives and we are dedicated to teaching them how.
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