What's New in the CTN Dissemination Library?  

	February 3, 2010 The Adoption of Alcohol Pharmacotherapies in the Clinical Trials Network: The Influence of Research Network Participation. This in-press article at Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, by Amanda Abraham, Hannah Knudsen, and colleagues, examines the adoption of alcohol use pharmacotherapies by treatment programs participating in the CTN to determine if simply participating in a research network encourages organizations to adopt more evidence-based treatments in general (not specific to research they were involved in directly). [read more]
February 2, 2010 A Multi-Site, Two-Phase, Prescription Opioid Addiction Treatment Study (POATS): Rationale, Design, and Methodology. This article, in press at Contemporary Clinical Trials and written by Roger Weiss, Jennifer Potter and colleagues, describes the design and methods for CTN protocol CTN-0030, the Prescription Opioid Addiction Treatment Study (POATS). This study was launched in response to rising rates of prescription opipoid dependence and took place at 10 community treatment programs around the United States. The study included two phases of treatment, the second phase aimed at participants who relapsed after Phase 1. POATS was developed to determine what benefit, if any, Enhanced Medical Management (EMM) offers over Standard Medical Management (SMM) in short-term and longer-term treatment paradigm. [read more]
	February 2, 2010 Methodological Innovation to Increase the Utility and Efficiency of Psychotherapy Research for Patients with Co-Occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders. This article in Professional Psychology: Research and Practice (Denise Hien et al) uses a hybrid model study conducted within the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Clinical Trials Network, CTN-0015 ("Women's Treatment for Trauma and Substance Use Disorders") to illustrate the application of a more flexible research design while also illuminating the inefficiency of the traditional linear stage model of behavioral therapy given the diversity of population, predictably irregular treatment participation, and relevance of training and supervision implementation issues. [read more]
January 22, 2010 Workshop on Methods for Disseminating Evidence-Based Treatments from the Frontlines of Community Treatment Programs. Video of a workshop held at the CTN Steering Committee meeting, Bethesda, MD, March 24, 2009. This 2-hour workshop, organized by the CTN Research Utilization Committee, highlighted different methods CTPs have used to disseminate evidence-based treatment into their practice settings, with presentations from 5 CTPs and the CTN Dissemination Library. CE available: For a small fee, 3 NAADAC contact credit hours are available from the National Office of the Addiction Technology Transfer Center, upon viewing the video and taking a short quiz. [read more]
	January 4, 2010 The Alliance in Motivational Enhancement Therapy and Counseling as Usual for Substance Use Problems. This ancillary investigation of data from protocol CTN-0004, published in Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and written by Paul Crits-Christoph, Robert Gallop, Christina Temes, and colleagues, examines questions about the role of the alliance in Motivational Enhancement Therapy and counseling as usual. [read more]
December 16, 2009 Reducing Sex Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol for Patients in Substance Abuse Treatment. This in-press Addiction article, by Donald Calsyn, Paul Crits-Christoph, and colleagues, reports on the outcomes of the secondary aim of the REMAS study (protocol CTN-0018): to reduce the frequency with which men engage in sex under the influence of drugs or alcohol (SUI). The study found that REMAS, an intensive skills-based HIV prevention intervention, was associated with greater reduction of SUI among men in substance abuse treatment compared to standard HIV education at the 3 month follow-up. The REMAS intervention has now been shown to reduce both the number of unprotected sexual intercourse occasions and SUI events, highlighting the effectiveness of HIV prevention interventions in substance abuse treatment settings that go beyond the typical informational-focused interventions. [read more]
	December 16, 2009 Data for CTN-0029 Released on CTN Public Data Share Site The data files for protocol CTN-0029, "A Pilot Study of Osmotic-Release Methylphenidate in Initiating and Maintaining Abstinence in Smokers with ADHD," have now been released on the CTN Public Data Share site. Also available are the study protocol documents, annotated CRFs, and additional study information. [access the data]
December 10, 2009 Do Treatment Improvements in PTSD Severity Affect Substance Use Outcomes? A Secondary Analysis from a Randomized Clinical Trial in NIDA's Clinical Trials Network. This in-press American Journal of Psychiatry article, by Denise Hien, Huiping Jiang, Aimee Campbell et al, describes a secondary analysis of data from CTN-0015 examining the temporal course of improvement in symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder among women in outpatient substance abuse treatment. The analysis found that reductions in PTSD severity were more likely to be associated with substance use improvement, with only minimal evidence supporting the opposite effect (substance use symptom reduction improving PTSD symptoms). [read more]
	December 9, 2009 Methodological Innovation to Increase the Utility and Efficiency of Psychotherapy Research for Patients with Co-occuring Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders. This article in the journal Professional Psychology: Research and Practice (by Denise Hien, Aimee Campbell, Lisa Cohen) uses protocol CTN-0015 to illustrate a hybrid model research design that allows for a systematic yet nonlinear relationship between efficacy and effectiveness designs. Hybrid model designs can maximize external validity and yield many meaningful results, while also maximizing cost-effectiveness. [read more]
December 9, 2009 Relationship Power and Sexual Risk among Women in Community-Based Substance Abuse Treatment. This article in the Journal of Urban Health, by Aimee Campbell, Susan Tross, Shari Dworkin, et al, explores the association between sexual relationship power and unprotected vaginal or anal sex using baseline data from CTN-0019. Findings show a complex picture of of the association between power and sexual risk in this population, with a main effect in the hypothesized direction for decision-making dominance but not for relationship control. [read more]
	December 2, 2009 Predictors of Buprenorphine-Naloxone Dosing in a 12-Week Treatment Trial for Opioid-Dependent Youth: Secondary Analyses from a NIDA Clinical Trials Network Study. This article by Amit Chakrabarti, George Woody et al (in press, Drug and Alcohol Dependence) reports on an ancillary investigation of CTN-0010 examining baseline patient characteristics to predict dosing of buprenorphine-naloxone, a promising treatment for opioid addiction in youths. [read more]
November 18, 2009 External Pressure, Motivation, and Treatment Outcome among Pregnant Substance-Abusing Women. This CTN platform/ancillary study by Steven Ondersma, Theresa Winhusen, and Daniel Lewis (Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2009 (in press), examined the associations between external pressure -- defined as self-reported pressure to attend treatment under threat of incarceration, loss of child custody, and/or loss of subsidized housing -- and key outcomes of retention and substance use among a sample of 200 pregnant women participating in protocol CTN-0013 (MET for pregnant substance users). [read more]
	November 18, 2009 Research Utilization Committee Dissemination Workshop, October 2009. This workshop, organized by the CTN Research Utilization Committee, highlighted different methods CTPs have used to disseminate evidence-based treatment into their practice settings. Speakers from a number of CTN Community Treatment Providers (CTPs) presented at the workshop on topics ranging from training clinicians in teleconferencing technology, to treatment systems improvement projects, to implementation of an HIV rapid testing protocol. [complete set of presentations here]
October 28, 2009 Manuals for CTN-0018 and CTN-0019 Now Available! The manuals used in protocols CTN-0018 and CTN-0019 (Reducing HIV/STD Risk Behaviors: A Research Study for Men/Women in Drug Abuse Treatment) are now available for free download from the CTN Dissemination Library. Read more about each manual and download them here: Real Men Are Safe (REMAS). Don Calsyn, PhD, et al., Pacific Northwest Node. Safer Sex Skills Building [for Women]. Susan Tross, PhD, et al. Long Island Node.
	October 26, 2009 Predictors of Condom Use among Men Enrolled in Drug Treatment Programs. This ancillary investigation in AIDS Education and Prevention, written by Yong Song, Donald Calsyn, and colleagues, identified predictors of condom use and developed a model of condom use in a sample of men enrolled in drug treatment as part of protocol CTN-0018. It found that condom availability in treatment programs is an important risk reduction intervention, resulting in increased condom use among male patients. [read more]
October 13, 2009 Methods of Recruiting Adolescents with Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders for a Clinical Trial. A lack of research on effective ways of recruiting adolescents with co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders has contributed to the paucity of clinical trials and significant research gaps in such youths. This CTN platform/ancillary study in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse by William Jaffee, Genie Bailey, and colleagues, reports on the recruiting strategies for CTN-0028, a 16-week, multi-site trial of osmotic-release methylphenidate combined with cognitive-behavioral therapy in adolescents with co-occurring ADHD and substance use disorder, and reports on the feasibility of recruiting dually-diagnosed teens using a multifaceted approach involving the entire study team. [read more]
	October 12, 2009 A Multisite Randomized Effectiveness Trial of Motivational Enhancement Therapy for Spanish-Speaking Substance Users. The primary outcomes article for CTN-0021 (MET for Spanish-Speaking Individuals) has now been published in Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. The article, by Kathleen Carroll, Steve Martino, Samuel Ball, and colleagues, reports that individual treatments delivered in Spanish were both attractive to and effective with a hetereogeneous group of Hispanic adults, but that the differential effectiveness of MET may be limited to those whose primary substance use problem is alcohol. [read more]
September 10, 2009 Differential Impact of Alcohol Dependence on Families Compared to Other Substances. This poster from the June 2009 Research Society on Alcoholism conference was presented by Wayne Denton and colleagues from the Texas Node. It describes an ancillary investigation that analyzed data from CTN-0004 and CTN-0005 to investigate the hypothesis that alcohol dependence has a less severe negative effect on the family than dependence on methamphetamine, cocaine, or opiates. [read more]
	September 9, 2009 2010 Blending Conference & Steering Commitee Meeting: Save the Date! The 8th Blending Conference will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico from April 22-23, 2010. The Blending Addiction Science and Practice: Evidence-Based Treatment and Prevention in Diverse Populations and Settings conference presents innovative, science-based approaches that have been proven to be effective in the prevention and treatment of drug abuse and addiction. Also that week in Albuquerque is the spring CTN Steering Committee meeting (April 19-20) followed by a special CTN 10th Anniversary Symposium (April 21). Visit the CTN Meetings web site for details on these two CTN meetings, as well as the upcoming October 2009 Steering Committee meeting.
September 1, 2009 Three Articles in New Journal of Drug Issues about the ATTOC platform study. Joseph Guydish of the California/Arizona node, co-PI with Douglas Ziedonis from the Northern New England Node on the CTN platform study, "Addressing Tobacco through Organizational Change" (ATTOC), has three articles about the project in the latest issue of Journal of Drug Issues. The first, "Staff Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Nicotine Dependence Differ by Setting," examines barriers to providing smoking cessation services in a workforce sample. "Does the Presence of a Smoking Cessation Clinical Trial Affect Staff Practices Related to Smoking?" investigates whether organizational changes occurred when nicotine treatments were tested in specialty care clinics. And "Development of the Smoking Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (S-KAP) Instrument" describes the creation and characteristics of a new measure that can be used by treatment providers to quantify staff attitudes and knowledge regarding smoking cessation treatments and issues.
	August 30, 2009 Disseminating Contingency Management to Increase Attendance in Two Community Substance Abuse Treatment Centers: Lessons Learned. This poster by N. Robrina Walker, Traci Rosvall, and colleagues, was presented at the 2009 annual convention of the American Psychological Association (August 6-9, Toronto). It describes a project in which the Texas Node collaborated with local CTPs to disseminate the evidence-based treatments of contingency management and motivational interviewing. [read more]
August 19, 2009 Choosing a Control Group in Effectiveness Trials of Behavioral Drug Abuse Treatments. This article in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment by Gregory Brigham, Daniel Feaster, Paul Wakim, and Catherine Dempsey, uses examples from the CTN to present four possible design options for randomized controlled trials conducted in community treatment programs involving treatment-seeking individuals. [read more]
	August 19, 2009 Stimulant Abuser Groups to Engage in 12-Step: An Overview for the STAGE-12 Executive Committee. This Dennis Donovan presentation was delivered at the STAGE-12 Protocol Training Meeting in Bethesda, MD, December 3, 2007. It examines the evidence supporting, and methods of implementing, 12-step facilitation and discusses its suitability for use in protocol CTN-0031. The presentation ends with a description of the three ancillary studies that will go along with STAGE-12: an alcohol assessment (AUDIT-C), health services research, and cognitive impairment associated with stimulant abuse. [read more]
August 12, 2009 Ethnic Match, Therapeutic Alliance, and Treatment Outcomes among Women with Trauma and Addictions. This poster, by Lesia Ruglass and colleagues, was presented at the recent American Psychological Association (APA) convention in Toronto, and examines the relationship between racial/ethnic match, therapeutic alliance, and treatment outcomes among 353 women with PTSD and substance use disorders who participated in CTN-0015. [read more]
	August 5, 2009 Another CTN Paper Awarded "Top Cited" Certificate from Elsevier! The primary outcome paper from CTN-0004 (the MET study) has also been awarded recognition as one of the top 10 most-cited papers (2006-2008) published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. The paper, by Kathleen Carroll et al, is entitled "Motivational Interviewing to Improve Treatment Engagement and Outcome in Individuals Seeking Treatment for Substance abuse: A Multisite Effectiveness Study" and was published in 2006. Click here to read the abstract for this paper and request a copy of it.
August 4, 2009 Training Page Added to the CTN Dissemination Library Visit the new Training Resources page added to the CTN Dissemination Library. Find links to videos and presentations from selected trainings of interest to CTN  providers and others.  http://ctndisseminationlibrary.org/training.htm.
	August 4, 2009 Gender Interest Group Paper Among 10 Most-Cited in DAD Shelly Greenfield was just awarded a "Top Cited" certificate from publisher Elsevier for the paper, "Substance abuse treatment entry, retention, and outcome in women: A review of the literature." This paper, by Greenfield and the CTN Gender Interest Group, was one of the 10 Most-Cited papers in Drug and Alcohol Dependence between 2006-2008.  Congratulations, to Dr. Greenfield and all of her co-authors! See what the accolades are all about: Click here to read the abstract and request a copy of the article.
August 3, 2009 Two New Articles Present Outcomes from CTN-0015 These two new articles have just become available, presenting both primary and secondary outcomes from protocol CTN-0015: Multisite Randomized Trial of Behavioral Interventions for Women with Co-Occurring PTSD and Substance Use Disorders. Hien, Wells, Jiang, et al. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2009;77(4):607-619. This article presents the primary outcomes from CTN-0015, a protocol that compared the effectiveness of Seeking Safety with Women's Health Education for treatment of substance use disorder and PTSD. The Impact of Trauma-Focused Group Therapy upon HIV Sexual Risk Behaviors in the NIDA Clinical Trials Network "Women and Trauma" Multi-Site Study. Hien, Campbell, Killeen, et al. AIDS and Behavior 2009 (in press). This article examines the impact of Seeking Safety vs. Women's Health Education on reduction of unprotected sexual occasions among women with substance use disorders.
	July 9, 2009 National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network -- Renewal RFAs! NIDA announces a competition for new cooperative agreement applications and cooperative agreement renewal applications from established clinical investigators to participate in the CTN.  The application receipt date is November 2, 2009; the peer review date is February 2010.  All 16 CTN Nodes are up for renewal this cycle.  Read more:  http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DA-10-009.html.
July 8, 2009 CTN-Related Posters and Presentations from the 2009 College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) Conference This year's College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) conference was held June 20-25, 2009 in Reno/Sparks, Nevada and featured several CTN-related presenters. If you missed the conference and want to find out about the latest in CTN research, check out these posters and presentations (more added below as they come in): Gender Differences in Rates and Correlates of HIV Risk Behaviors Among Drug Dependent Individuals by Audrey J. Brooks, et al. This presentation describes the results of an ancillary investigation the examined gender differences in the rates and correlates of HIV sexual and drug risk behaviors in a sample of clients from five CTN protocols. Use of an Adaptive Treatment Research Design in a CTN Study of Prescription Opioid Dependence Treatment by Roger D. Weiss, et al. This poster describes the use of an ATRD in protocol CTN-0030 (POATS). Predictors of Job-Seeking Behaviors by Alyssa A. Forcehimes, et al. This poster describes a single-site adaptation of protocol CTN-0020 in a Native American treatment program in the American Southwest. Assessing Predictors of Treatment Retention in a Community Outpatient Substance Abuse Clinic by Ryan Vandrey, et al. This poster discusses an ancillary investigation that sought to identify predictors of treatment retention at a CTP in Baltimore, MD. Gender Differences in Physical/Sexual Abuse in Outpatients with SUDs: Correlates with Medical and Psychiatric Symptoms by Leila Z. Islam, et al. This poster reports on an ancillary investigation of CTN-0020 examining prevalence rates in a diverse SUD sample and their medical/psychiatric correlates. Participation in Substance Abuse Clinical Trials: Comparing Gender, Racial/Ethnic and Age Groups by Carmen Rosa and Paul Wakim. This poster provides data comparing gender, age, and racial/ethnic groups with respect to CTN trial participation, outcome measures, treatment exposure, and follow-up assessments.
	July 7, 2009 Two New CTN Article In-Press in Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. "Incentives for Retention of Pregnant Substance Users: A Secondary Analysis," by Brigham, Winhusen, Lewis, and Kropp, is about an ancillary analysis of data from CTN-0013 (MET for pregnant substance abusers) evaluating the hypothesis that monetary reinforcement for attendance would result in better retention of pregnant substance users in treatment sessions. Findings indicate participants were nearly three times as likely to attend four consecutive weeks of treatment when they received $25-$30 gift certificates for attendance compared to a nonincentivized treatment track. [read more] "Buprenorphine Adoption in the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network," by Knudsen, Abraham, Johnson, and Roman, is the latest from the National Treatment Center Study at the University of Georgia, and examines the adoption of buprenorphine over a 2-year period in community treatment providers of the CTN. The findings of this article point to the dynamic nature of service delivery and the continued need for longitudinal studies of organizational change. [read more]
June 23, 2009 Facilitating Involvement in Twelve-Step Programs. This chapter in volume 18 of the monograph series Recent Developments in Alcoholism (2008) is by Dennis Donovan and Anthony Floyd of the Pacific Northwest Node. Ancillary to protocol CTN-0031 (STAGE-12), it reviews the impact of treatment program involvement, subsequent meeting attendance, engagement in twelve-step activities, and alcohol and drug use, in order to further explore the impact of involvement in self-help groups on achieving and maintaining abstinence. [read more]
	June 21, 2009 Retention of Under-Represented Minorities in Drug Abuse Treatment Studies. This ancillary investigation in the journal Clinical Trials used data from six CTN trials (0001, 0002, 0005, 0006, 0007, and 0011) to investigate differential attrition by minority populations in drug abuse treatment studies. Authors Kathryn Magruder, Bichun Ouyang, and colleagues found that older African Americans and Caucasians had the greatest odds of retention, and younger African Americans the lowest. Primary drug of abuse, HIV risk screening as a program benefit, and lower percentages of female admissions were also related to study retention. [read more]
June 8, 2009 Disparities in Health Services for HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C Virus, and Sexually Transmitted Infections: Role of Substance Abuse Treatment Programs. This Journal of Addiction Medicine article by Brown, Kritz, Muhammad and other members of the CTN-0012 team, addresses the prominence of healthcare disparities for women and minority populations. Reporting on a survey of sexually transmitted infection services provided by the CTPs in the CTN, the researchers found that programs with addiction services designed for minority populations and women provide infection-related health services more often than programs without these specially designed services. This suggests that the tailoring of treatment is an important public health strategy in addressing both the control of these infections and in reducing some of the disparities associated with them. [read more]
	May 21, 2009 The Impact of Trauma-Focused Group Therapy upon HIV Sexual Risk Behaviors in the NIDA Clinical Trials Network "Women and Trauma" Multi-site Study. This paper, in-press in the journal AIDS and Behavior, reports on the outcomes from protocol CTN-0015, "Women's Treatment for Trauma and Substance Use Disorders." In CTN-0015, authors Denise Hien, Aimee Campbell, Therese Killeen, and colleagues, examined the impact of two group therapy interventions (Seeking Safety and Women's Health Education) on reduction of unprotected sexual occasions among women with substance use disorders and PTSD, and found that high risk women in this population may benefit more from a treatment like Seeking Safety that specifically addresses coping skills and trauma to reduce HIV risk. [read more]
May 13, 2009 Trauma and Intravenous Drug Use among Pregnant Alcohol/Other Drug Abusing Women: Factors in Predicting Child Abuse Potential. As an ancillary investigation to protocol CTN-0013 (MET in pregnant women), this study explores the association between trauma, route of drug administration (IV use), and child abuse potential in pregnant substance users. It is written by Sarah J. Erickson and J. Scott Tonigan and was published in Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly in 2008. [read more]
	May 11, 2009 The Construct and Measurement Equivalence of Cocaine and Opioid Dependences: A National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) Study. This platform/ancillary investigation, currently in-press in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, is by Li-Tzy Wu, Jeng-Jong Pan, Dan G. Blazer, and colleagues, and examined the construct and measurement equivalence of diagnostic criteria for cocaine and opioid dependences using data from public-use files from patients enrolled in CTN-0007 (MIEDAR). Overall, this study suggests that self-reported clinical symptoms of cocaine and opioid dependences and their underlying constructs can be measured appropriately among treatment-seeking polysubstance users. [read more]
May 11, 2009 Correspondence of Motivational Enhancement Treatment Integrity Ratings Among Therapists, Supervisors, and Observers. This platform/ancillary investigation published in Psychotherapy Research, by Steve Martino, Sam Ball, and colleagues, examined the correspondence of treatment integrity ratings (adherence and competence) among community program therapists, supervisors, and observers for therapists who used MET in protocol CTN-0004. [read more]
	April 27, 2009 Two New Ancillary/Platform Study Articles in the CTN Dissemination Library. Two new articles have been added to the CTN Dissemination Library today. The first, in Drug and Alcohol Dependence (2009, in press), is by Elizabeth J. Santa Ana, Kathleen M. Carroll, Luis Anez, et al, and is entitled, "Evaluating Motivational Enhancement Therapy Adherence and Competence among Spanish-Speaking Therapists." This report provides data on the psychometric properties of a therapist adherence/competence rating system adapted from MET trial CTN-0004 and used in a Spanish version of that trial, CTN-0021. [read more] The second article, published in American Journal on Addictions (2009), is by Li-Tzy Wu, Dan G. Blazer, Ashwin A. Patkar, et al, and is entitled, "Heterogeneity of Stimulant Dependence: A National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network Study." In this study, the presence of DSM-IV subtyping for dependence on cocaine and amphetamines was investigated among outpatient stimulant users enrolled in CTN-0006 (MIEDAR). [read more]
April 21, 2009 An Item Response Theory Modeling of Alcohol and Marijuana Dependences: A National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network Study. This study, by Li-Tzy Wu, Jeng-Jong Pan, Dan G. Blazer, and colleagues, was recently published in Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. It aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the diagnostics criteria for alcohol and marijuana dependences in the DSM-IV, using samples from two CTN trials, CTN-0006 and CTN-0007. The study's findings highlight the clinical utility of the DSM-IV checklist in the assessment of alcohol and marijuana dependence syndromes. [read more]
	April 10, 2009 Quality Assurance of Research Protocols Conducted in the Community: The National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network Experience. This new article in the journal Clinical Trials (by Carmen Rosa, Aimee Campbell, et al) describes the CTN's QA model, including examples of protocol violations and monitoring, and presents lessons learned from the CTN's experience. [read more]
April 7, 2009 Construct and Predictive Validity of Composite Measures of Motivation to Change Derived from the URICA. This poster from the 2008 College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) conference by Craig Field, Bryon Adinoff, and colleagues, describes an analysis of the construct and predictive validity of two composite measures of motivation to change derived from the URICA and determines that increased motivation to change does not appear to influence treatment outcome. [read more]
	April 2, 2009 Agency Context and Tailored Training in Technology Transfer: A Pilot Evaluation of Motivational Interviewing Training for Community Counselors. This new in-press CTN platform study, by John Baer, Elizabeth Wells, and colleagues at the PN node, tested a context-tailored training (CTT) model, which used standardized patient actors in role-plays tailored to agency clinical context, repetitive cycles of practice and feedback, and enhanced organizational support, to see if it would outperform a standard 2-day MI training in terms of counselor learning and maintenance of new skills. (Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 2009, in press). [read more]
April 1, 2009 Relational Discord at Conclusion of Treatment Predicts Future Substance Use for Partnered Patients. This poster from the 2008 College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) conference by Wayne Denton, Paul Nakonezny, and colleagues, describes an analysis of data from CTN-0004 and -0005 regarding the impact of relational functioning at the conclusion of community treatment for substance abuse and determines that relational discord at the end of treatment is a risk factor for substance use after discharge and may warrant a referral to relational (couples) therapy. [read more]
	March 16, 2009 CTN Web Seminar Series -- 2009 Course Catalog The CTN Dissemination Library now includes the video/audio recording from the recent CTN Web Seminar, "Fundamentals of Clinical Research in the CTN." If you are interested in other online courses from the CTN Clinical Coordinating Center and EMMES, you can view the 2009 Course Catalog here, or log into Livelink to find recordings and handouts from past webinars.
March 16, 2009 Fundamentals of Clinical Research in the CTN -- Web seminar video and handouts now available! Video/audio and handouts from the recent CTN Clinical Coordinating Center and EMMES web seminar, "Fundamentals of Clinical Research in the CTN" (Ron Jackson and Christie Thomas) are now available in the CTN Dissemination Library. This two-hour online seminar aimed to orient novice research staff to the CTN and the clinical research environment within the CTN. [read more]
	March 11, 2009 Facility Renovation/Repair Grants Now Available. The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR/NIH) announced availability of funds that CTPs might look to for facility renovation. Please note that the two grants available have different due dates, and require an electronic application. It is anticipated that there will be extensive competition for these grants (which are funded from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Download the applications below and decide if you qualify and wish to apply (you can team up with other organizations or your RRTC). These awards are expected to create or maintain American jobs. Core Facility Renovation, Repair, and Improvement (G20) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RR-09-007.html. Application due date: September 17, 2009 Extramural Research Facilitaties Improvement Program (C06) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RR-09-008.html. Application due date(s): May 6, 2009 (for projects between $2M and $5M); June 17, 2009 ($10M and $15M); and July 17, 2009 ($5M and $10M).
March 5, 2009 The Place of Adoption in the NIDA Clinical Trials Network. This article in Journal of Drug Issues (2008) is by Jessup, Guydish, Manser, and Tajima, and describes a qualitative study of adoption of evidence-based practice in the context of two CTN clinical trials (CTN-0004 and -0005). [read more]
	March 4, 2009 A Centralized Informatics Infrastructure for the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network. This new article in the journal Clinical Trials, by Jeng-Jong Pan, Meredith Nahm, Paul Wakim, Carol Cushing, et al, describes the CTN's transition from a distributed data management model to a centralized informatics infrastructure, and details the positive effects that transition has had on both efficiency and cost-effectiveness in the CTN. [read more]
March 3, 2009 Fundamentals of Clinical Research in the CTN, March 11, 1pm (ET). This two-hour online seminar from EMMES will orient novice research staff to the CTN and the clinical research environment within the CTN. Participants will receive explanation of the essential principles critical to facilitating CTN research in a clinical treatment program. Everyone is welcome! The target audience includes novice research staff responsible for conducting NIDA CTN research trials. (EMMES seminars from 2008 are available on LiveLink.) To register, email ctntraining@emmes.com.    [View flyer]
	February 19, 2009 Presentations available from the 2nd Annual NIH Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation. The program book, speaker presentations, video webcasts, and other materials from January's 2nd Annual NIH Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation, "Building Research Capacity to Bridge the Gap from Science to Service," are now available online at: http://conferences.thehillgroup.com/obssr/di2008/postconference.html. Think Tank summaries will follow in March, so check back at the web site in a few weeks to see if they are available!
February 18, 2009 Understanding Attitudes Toward Use of Medication in Substance Abuse Treatment: A Multilevel Approach. This article in the latest issue of Psychological Services, by John Fitzgerald and Dennis McCarty of the OR/HI Node, reports on a set of outcomes from CTN-0008 examining staff attitudes towards addiction medications such as naltrexone, methadone, and buprenorphine. [read more]
	February 12, 2009 Teaching, Monitoring and Evaluating Motivational Interviewing Practice. This book chapter, written by Steve Martino, Kathy Carroll, and Sam Ball (in Motivational Dialogue: Preparing Addiction Professionals for Motivational Interviewing Practice. New York: Routledge, 2007), describes the MINT model of motivational interviewing training and describes how the CTN's four MI-related protocols (0004, 0005, 0013, 0021) used this model to implement their training programs for MI. [read more]
February 11, 2009 Data from CTN-0017 Available at CTN Public Data Share. Data from CTN-0017 (HIV and HCV Intervention in Drug Treatment Settings) are now available on the CTN Public Data Share web site (http://www.ctndatashare.org). The web site also contains data from the following sixteen studies: CTN 0001, 02-09, 11-13, 16, 18, 19 and 21. The next protocol to be posted will be CTN 0020 (Job Seekers Training for Patients with Drug Dependence) at the end of February. The web site is also undergoing some major improvements to enhance the user experience, including a more dynamic web design, additional protocol descriptions, a searchable list of validated instruments, user experience (FAQs) and more documentation to help download data and navigate the web site's content. The new web site will be launched on Friday, February 13. (source: CTN Bulletin 2009 Feb 11;9(3):2.)
	February 10, 2009 Brief Strategic Family TherapyTM for Adolescent Drug Abusers: A Multi-Site Effectiveness Study. This in-press Contemporary Clinical Trials article by Michael Robbins, José Szapocznik, Viviana Horigian, et al, describes the aims, design, study treatments, data analysis plan, and data monitoring and safety reporting for CTN protocol CTN-0014, "Brief Strategic Family Therapy for Adolescent Drug Abusers." [read more]
February 8, 2009 Substance Abuse Treatment Clinician Opinions and Infectious Disease Service Delivery. This article in Journal of Addictive Diseases, by Tracy, Brown, Kritz, et al., reports on survey data collected as part of CTN-0012 investigating the relationship between clinician opinions and the delivery of services for HIV, hepatitis C, and other sexually transmitted infections in substance abuse treatment settings. [read more]
	January 31, 2009 Two Upcoming CTN Workshops, March 24, 2009. Two workshops will preceed March's National Steering Committee Meeting (both will be held at the conference hotel, the North Bethesda Marriott). The first, "Practical Approaches for Valid Subgroup Analysis in the CTN," will facilitate valid analyses of ethnic/racial minorities, gender, and other subpopulations in the CTN. Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 1:00-3:30pm. View flyer. The second, "Methods for Disseminating Evidence-Based Treatments from the Frontlines of Community Treatment Programs," will highlight different methods CTPs have used to dissemination EBT into their practice settings and feature a live demonstration of the CTN Dissemination Library. Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 3:30-5:30pm. View flyer.
January 27, 2009 Trauma Services for Women in Substance Abuse Treatment: An Integrated Approach. This book was written by researchers and clinicians involved in protocol CTN-0015 (Hien, Litt, Cohen, Miele, and Campbell), which is mentioned in several sections and also serves as one of the final chapter's three case studies on moving research to practice. Clinicians seeking to treat women experiencing both a history of trauma and the effects of substance abuse will find this book to be a useful hands-on guide. [read more]
	January 25, 2009 Factor Structure of the Condoms Barriers Scale with a Sample of Men at High Risk for HIV. This recent article in Assessment (2009) is by Suzanne Doyle, Don Calsyn, and Sam Ball. It assesses the psychometric properties of the Condom Barriers Scale (CBS), an instrument originally designed to measure women’s perceptions and attitudes regarding male condom use, with a sample of men at high risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (protocol CTN-0018). [read more]
January 22, 2009 Construct, Concurrent, and Predictive Validity of the URICA: Data from Two Multi-Site Clinical Trials. This Drug and Alcohol Dependence (in press) article by Field, Adinoff, Harris, Ball, and Carroll, evaluates the construct, concurrent, and predictive validity of two composite measures of motivation to change derived from the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA): Readiness to Change (RTC) and Committee Action (CA). [read more]
	January 20, 2009 Correlates of Stimulant Treatment Outcome Across Treatment Modalities. This secondary analysis in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, by Peirce, Petry, Roll, et al, evaluated variables associated with stimulant use outcomes in stimulant users receiving care in community outpatient psychosocial or methadone maintenance treatment clinics as part of CTN-0006 and CTN-0007. [read more]
January 19, 2009 Motivational and Skills Training HIV/Sexually Transmitted Infection Sexual Risk Reduction Groups for Men. This Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment (in press) article by Calsyn, Hatch-Maillette, Tross, Doyle, et al, describes the outcomes of CTN-0018, which evaluated the effectiveness of a motivational and skills training HIV/AIDS group intervention designed for men in substance abuse treatment. [read more]
	January 16, 2009 Buprenorphine Tapering Schedule and Illicit Opioid Use. This is the primary outcomes paper from CTN-0003, "Suboxone (Buprenorphine/Naloxone) Taper : A Comparison of Taper Schedules," which aimed to compare effects of a short or long taper schedule after buprenorphine stabilization on participant outcomes as measured by opioid-free urine tests at the end of each taper period. Researchers Walter Ling, Maureen Hillhouse, Catherine Domier, et al, found that, for individuals terminating buprenorphine pharmacotherapy for opioid dependence, there appears to be no advantage in prolonging the duration of taper. [read more]
January 13, 2009 HIV and HCV Counseling and Education (C&E) Intervention Training Manual, version 3.0. This is the Counseling and Education (C&E) Intervention Training Manual for protocol CTN-0017, "HIV and HCV Risk Reduction in Detoxification Settings." It was revised for the NIDA CTN in October 2004 from Susan Coyle's "NIDA Counseling and Education Intervention Model" (NIH Pub. No. 93-3580). The manual is for CTN-0017 interventionists and supervisors and is intended as a training tool and a quick reference guide for delivering the CTN-0017 protocol. [read more]
	January 7, 2009 Historical Trauma: Healing Approaches in Native American Communities [Conference Video]. In July 2008, the California-Arizona Node of the CTN hosted this day-long conference, funded by NIDA, that featured presentations covering both theoretical discussions and research findings on historical trauma, as well as clinical approaches by frontline clinicians. Videos of each of the presentations can now be viewed at the CTN Dissemination Library (or downloaded for viewing on iPods and other portable media devices). [read more]
December 30, 2008 Motivation Enhancement Therapy with Pregnant Substance-Abusing Women: Does Baseline Motivation Moderate Efficacy? This in-press article in Drug and Alcohol Dependence by Steven Ondersma, Theresa Winhusen, Sarah Erickson, Susan Stine, and Yun Wang, describes an ancillary study that was conducted to examine whether disordinal moderation by baseline motivation could partially explain negative findings in protocol CTN-0013. [read more]
	Dcember 10, 2008 Clinical Characteristics of Treatment-Seeking Prescription Opioid vs. Heroin-Using Adolescents with Opioid Use Disorder. This article by Geetha Subramaniam and Maxine Stitzer (Drug and Alcohol Dependence, in press) reports on a study aimed to compare the clinical characteristics of treatment-seeking prescription opioid-using adolescents with DSM-IV opioid use disorder (OUD) to those with heroin-using OUD adolescents. Some of the study's participants were recruited from CTN-0010, which was conducted at the same site (Mountain Manor, MA Node). [read more]
December 9, 2008 Serious Adverse Events in Randomized Psychosocial Treatment Studies: Safety or Arbitrary Edicts? This article in the December issue of Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology is by Nancy Petry, John Roll, Bruce Rounsaville, et al. It describes an ancillary study that examined occurrences of serious adverse events (SAEs) reported in multicenter psychosocial trials of the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network (protocols CTN-0004, -0005, -0006, and -0007). [read more]
November 19, 2008 Women's Health Education. In Peer Activism for Female Partners of Injection Drug Users. Women's Health Education (WHE) is a nonspecific short-term manualized treatment that features sessions focusing on understanding the female body, sexual behavior, pregnancy/childbirth, STDs, and HIV/AIDS. Protocol CTN-0015 compared WHE to the Seeking Safety intervention, a substance abuse treatment designed specifically for women with trauma, and found that both interventions significantly reduced PTSD symptoms over the course of one year follow-up. This collection of documents includes the WHE manual and workbook, information/tips for facilitators, a list of session materials, and activity cards. [read more]
	November 17, 2008 Methadone Patients in the Therapeutic Community: A Test of Equivalency. This article by James Sorensen, Siara Andrews, Kevin Delucchi, et al, (Drug and Alcohol Dependence, in press) is based on a CTN platform study that used equivalency testing to explore the consequences of admitting opioid-dependent clients currently on methadone maintenance treatment into a therapeutic community (TC) and found that methadone patients fared as well as other opioid users in TC treatment. [read more]
November 13, 2008 Research on the Diffusion of Evidence-Based Treatments within Substance Abuse Treatment: A Systematic Review. This in-press article in Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment provides a comprehensive literature review of research studies (including the CTN) that have examined the diffusion of evidence-based treatments. It was written by Bryan R. Garner, PhD of Chestnut Health Systems in Illinois. [read more]
	November 1, 2008 New CTN Protocol -- NIDA-CTN-0044. Information about the newest CTN protocol, CTN-0044, has now been added to the CTN Dissemination Library Protocols page. This protocol, entitled "Web-Delivery of Evidence-Based Psychosocial Treatment for Substance Use Disorders" is being led by the Long Island Node, with Dr. Edward Nuñes as the lead investigator. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of adding an interactive, web-based version of the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) intervention plus abstinence incentives as an adjunct to community-based, outpatient substance abuse treatment. [read more]
November 5, 2008 Outcomes from CTN-0010 and Addressing Sexual Issues in Addictions Treatment Two articles have just been added to the CTN Dissemination Library. The first, by George Woody, Sabrina Poole, Geetha Subramaniam, and colleagues, was just published in JAMA and is entitled "Extended vs. Short-Term Buprenorphine-Naloxone for Treatment of Opioid-Addicted Youth: A Randomized Trial." It reports on the outcomes of CTN-0010, which found that continuing treatment with buprenorphine/naloxone improved outcome compared with short-term detoxification. The second article is from the magazine Counselor and was written by Louise Haynes, Don Calsyn, and Susan Tross. It focuses on "Addressing Sexual Issues in Addictions Treatment," and includes information on CTN trials 0018 and 0019 (Reducing HIV/STD Risk Behaviors).
	November 1, 2008 Assessment and Treatment of Co-occurring Eating Disorders in Publicly Funded Addiction Treatment Programs. This 2008 article in Psychiatric Services, by Susan M. Gordon et al, is a product of the CTN Gender Special Interest Group (SIG). The SIG surveyed publicly funded addiction treatment programs to increase understanding of treatment options for persons with co-occurring eating and substance use disorders and found that such options were limited in their sample. [read more]
October 23, 2008 The CTN Bulletin Is Now Searchable! Now you can SEARCH back issues of the CTN Bulletin for items about people, protocols, and other news! The Bulletin features news and information on the progress of protocols, committees, and node activity for researchers and clinicians in the CTN. To search items from 2007 to date, click here, or browse whole issues for all years of the Bulletin by selecting the date in the right sidebar of this page. The CTN Dissemination Library is working backwards to index issues back through 2006.
	October 14, 2008 Patterns of Organization and Management in Private and Public Substance Abuse Treatment Programs. This 2006 article in Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment is written by Paul Roman, Lori Ducharme, and Hannah Knudsen. The goal of the article is to promote the concept of organizational field by summarizing findings from an ongoing research program (the National Treatment Center Study at the University of Georgia, which includes data from the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network) and by examining the organizational structure, service delivery, and patterns of innovation adoption in two large samples of substance abuse treatment programs in the United States. [read more]
October 14, 2008 Quantifying Data Quality for Clinical Trials Using Electronic Data Capture. This article in PLoS ONE (a peer-reviewed, public access journal) is by Meredith Nahm, Carl Pieper, and Maureen Cunningham. It reports on an analysis of the source-to-database error rate found in data from the first year of the CTN's use of Electronic Data Capture, finding that rate to be significantly lower than the average of published error rates for other source-to-database audits. [read more]
	October 7, 2008 Informal Discussions in Substance Abuse Treatment Sessions. This in-press article in Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment is written by Steve Martino, Sam Ball, Charla Nich, et al. It evaluates the extent to which counselors initiated informal "chat" discussions (i.e. general discussions and self-disclosures about matters unrelated to treatment) with their clients during treatment sessions within CTN-0004 (MET) and CTN-0005 (MI). [read more]
October 7, 2008 Data from CTN-0018 Now Available at CTN Public Data Share Site. The CTN Public Data Share web site is an online resource that allows data from completed clinical trials to be distributed to investigators in order to promote new research, encourage further analysis, and disseminate information to the community. Data from protocol NIDA-CTN-0018, Reducing HIV/STD Risk Behaviors: A Research Study for Men in Drug Abuse Treatment, has now been released on the site. You can also find the primary manuscript, study protocol documentation, and annotated CRFs for this protocol (and many others!) at the CTN Public Data Share site. Visit the Data Share page for CTN-0018 here: http://www.ctndatashare.org/studies/NIDA-CTN-0018/
	October 1, 2008 Opioid Treatment Programs in the Clinical Trials Network: Representativeness and Buprenorphine Adoption. This in-press article in Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment is written by Lori J. Ducharme and Paul Roman of the University of Georgia, Athens. Using data obtained from opioid treatment programs within the CTN and a sample drawn from other U.S. programs, their CTN-platform study compares the two groups on their organizational, clinical, and client characteristics, as well as their adoption of buprenorphine. [read more]
September 30, 2008 Clinical Characteristics of Treatment-Seeking Adolescents with Opioid versus Cannabis/Alcohol Use Disorders. This Drug and Alcohol Dependence (in-press) article, by Subramaniam, Stitzer, Woody, Fishman, and Kolodner, presents findings from a CTN platform study that assessed the clinical characteristics of adolescents with DSM-IV opioid use disorder and compared them to adolescents with cannabis/alcohol use disorders. One-fifth of the study's opioid-using participants were recruited from the CTN-0010 study (Bup/Nal for Adolescents/Young Adults), and the study was carried out at Mountain Manor Treatment Programs, a CTP in the Mid-Atlantic Node. [read more]
	September 29, 2008 Facilitating Outpatient Treatment Entry Following Detoxification for Injection Drug Use: A Multi-Site Test of Three Interventions. This in-press article in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, by Campbell, Fuller, Lee, Tillotson, et al, describes the outcomes of CTN-0017 ("HIV and HCV Intervention in Drug Treatment Settings"), a multisite, randomized CTN trial conducted to test three interventions to enhance treatment initiation following detoxification (single-session therapeutic alliance intervention, 2-session HIV/HCV risk reduction intervention, and treatment as usual only). [read more]
September 23, 2008 Predictors of Outcome for Short-Term Medically Supervised Opioid Withdrawal During a Randomized, Multicenter Trial of Buprenorphine-Naloxone and Clonidine in the NIDA Clinical Trials Network. This Drug and Alcohol Dependence (in-press) report, by Ziedonis, Amass, Steinberg, et al., presents findings from CTN-0001 and CTN-0002 related to predictors, mediators, and moderators of treatment success for medically supervised opioid withdrawal treatment. Medication type (buprenorphine-naloxone vs. clonidine) was the single best predictor of treatment retention and success, however the paper also considers other clinical and policy implications of other results, including that inpatient setting both predicted better outcomes and moderated medication outcomes. [read more]
	September 8, 2008 Recent Scientific Findings from the Clinical Trials Network. This presentation provides an overview of the most recent publications featuring outcomes from the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network. It was presented at a NIDA meeting on September 5, 2008 by Betty Tai, Steven Sparenborg, Petra Jacobs, Raul Mandler, and Paul Wakim of the CCTN. [read more]
September 7, 2008 American Psychological Association presentations on CTN-0018 and CTN-0019. The following four presentations from the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association (August 14-17, 2008, Boston, MA) have just been added to the CTN Dissemination Library: Behavioral Intention and Partner Type on Condom Use Among Men in Treatment (Song, Calsyn, Doyle, Dierst-Davies, Chen) CTN-0018 Reducing Sex Under the Influence for Substance Abuse Treatment Patients (Calsyn, Hatch-Maillette, Crits-Christoph, Song, Coyer, Pelta) CTN-0018 HIV/STD Safer Skills Groups for Women in Methadone Maintenance or Psychosocial Outpatient Treatment: A NIDA Clinical Trials Network Trial (Tross, Campbell, Cohen, Calsyn, et al) CTN-0019 Relationship Power and Sexual Risk in a Sample of Drug-Involved Women (Campbell, Tross, Manuel, Pavlicova, et al) CTN-0019