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July 13, 2008
Infrequent Illicit Methadone Use among Stimulant-Using Patients in Methadone Maintenance Treatment Programs: A National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network Study.

This American Journal on Addictions article about a CTN ancillary investigation was written by Li-Tzy Wu, Dan Blazer, Maxine Stitzer, Ashwin Patkar, and Jack Blaine. Using data from protocol CTN-0007 (MIEDAR: Methadone Clinics), the authors sought to determine the prevalence, patterns, and correlates of past-month illicit methadone use and history of regular illicit use among stimulant-using methadone maintenance treatment patients. [read more]


June 23, 2008
A Step Forward in Teaching Addiction Counselors How to Supervise Motivational Interviewing Using a Clinical Trials Training Approach.

This Journal of Teaching in the Addictions article, by Steve Martino, Steve Gallon, Sam Ball, and Kathleen Carroll, is about teaching addiction counselors how to supervise motivational interviewing using a clinical trials training approach and the Blending Team Product Motivational Interviewing Assessment: Supervisory Tools for Enhancing Proficiency (MIA-STEP). [read more]

 


June 12, 2008
Developing the Therapeutic Alliance as a Bridge to Treatment: Training Manual for the Therapeutic Alliance Intervention.

This manual, written by Barbara Campbell, PhD (OR/HI Node), is a training guide for the Therapeutic Alliance intervention used in NIDA's National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) protocol #0017, "HIV and HCV Risk Reduction Interventions in Drug Detoxification and Treatment Settings." It includes an overview of the research on Therapeutic Alliance, its goals, and a detailed session plan for clinicians to use when implementing the TA intervention in their community treatment programs. [read more]


June 16, 2008
NIDA Blending Conference, 2008.

The 2008 NIDA Blending Conference in Cincinnati on June 2-3 attracted more than 1000 participants from both research and treatment practice. Slides from the plenary and breakout sessions are now available. View presentation slides on the conference web site.

The Blending Conference presentations about CTN research have also been added to the CTN Library, with links and cross-references to relevant protocols. View the presentation slides in the CTN Library.


June 12, 2008
Measurement and Data Analysis in Research Addressing Health Disparities in Substance Abuse.

This in-press article in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, by Ann Kathleen Burley, Daniel Feaster, Mary-Lynn Brecht, and Robert Hubbard, describes concrete strategies for conducting substance abuse research with ethnic minorities, addressing two major issues associated with valid analysis: measurement and data analysis. [read more]

June 2, 2008
Using a Standardized Patient Walk-Through to Improve Implementation of Clinical Trials.

This in-press article from Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment is written by Holly Fussell, Lynn Kunkel, Colleen Lewy, Bentson McFarland, and Dennis McCarty (all from the OR/HI Node). It describes the use of a standardized patient (an actor trained to portray a set of symptoms) in facilitating the implementation of protocol CTN-0030 (Prescription Opiate Addiction Treatment Study (POATS)). Both research coordinators and staff found the use of the standardized patient highly effective. [read more]



April 22, 2008
Clinical Supervision, Emotional Exhaustion, and Turnover Intention: A Study of Substance Abuse Treatment Counselors in the Clinical Trials Network of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

This in-press article in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, by Hannah Knudsen, Lori Ducharme, and Paul Roman, examines the impact of clinical supervision on emotional exhaustion and turnover in a large sample of community treatment providers from the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network. [read more]

April 15, 2008
Contingency Management in Substance Abuse Treatment -- New Book Features Two Chapters about CTN MIEDAR Studies.

This 2007 book from Guilford Press (edited by Higgins ST, Silverman K, and Heil SH) includes two chapters that discuss the MIEDAR protocols, CTN-0006 and CTN-0007:

Large-Scale Dissemination Efforts in Drug Abuse Treatment Clinics, by Maxine Stitzer and Scott Kellogg, describes the CTN protocol development process and study outcomes for CTN-0006 and 0007. It also highlights some of the barriers that need to be overcome as well as the decisions that clinicians face when designing and implementing a CM program.

Lowering Costs in Drug Abuse Treatment Clinics, by Nancy Petry and Sheila Alessi, discusses some adaptations or novel applications of CM programs that can help make them sustainable, and describes the MIEDAR studies as examples of scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of CM.


April 3, 2008
U.S. News & World Report's "Best Medical Schools" with Drug and Alcohol Abuse Programs -- All CTN RRTCs!

U.S. News & World Report recently released their 2008 rankings for Best Graduate Schools. All of the medical schools ranked in the top 10 for drug and alcohol abuse medical specialties are schools that have National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) Nodes and Regional Research and Training Centers (RRTCs) affiliated with them. Congratulations to all ten schools, and keep up the great work!

April 1, 2008
States and Substance Abuse Treatment Programs: Funding and Guidelines for Infection-Related Services.

This new American Journal of Public Health (in-press) paper from Steven Kritz, Lawrence Brown, R. Jeffrey Goldsmith, et al, reports on a survey done as part of CTN-0012 that explored the relationship between state (including Washington, D.C.) funding and guidelines and substance abuse treatment program practices. [read more]

 


March 17, 2008
Two New In-Press Articles in Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment.

Two more CTN articles are now in-press in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment and have been added to the CTN Dissemination Library. The articles are:

March 10, 2008
New Outcomes Papers from CTN-0011, CTN-0013, and CTN-0015

Three new papers have just been added to the CTN Dissemination Library featuring outcomes from protocols CTN-0011 (TELE), CTN-0013 (MET in Pregnant Substance Users), and CTN-0015 (Women & Trauma):

 


February 14, 2008
No Smoking Allowed: Integrating Smoking Cessation with Treatment.

This article by Bret Fuller and Joseph Guydish, published in the latest issue of Counselor, reports on the results of a survey of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) that assessed whether the participating agencies provided smoking cessation treatment as part of their regular services, as well as the attitudes of their staff regarding the feasibility of offering smoking cessation treatment. [read more]

February 7, 2008
NIDA Blending Conference, June 2-3, 2008, Cincinnati, OH -- Registration is Open!

Registration is now open for the 2008 NIDA Blending Addiction Science & Treatment conference, June 2-3, 2008, Cincinnati, Ohio. This unique two-day conference will provide an opportunity for clinicians and researchers to examine cutting-edge scientific findings about drug abuse and addiction and their application to clinical practice.

For more information about the conference, including lodging, registration, and the schedule, visit the conference web site: https://www.sei2003.com/nida/blendingcinci


February 4, 2008
NIDA Networking Project Promotes Information Sharing and Collaboration.

The NIDA Networking Project was developed to provide opportunities for information sharing and research collaboration among NIDA's networks across the country by providing researchers and clinicians access to network locations, people, expertise, and resources to help synergize efforts, improve efficiency, and accelerate scientific discovery. The NNP includes information about the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network, as well as a number of other NIDA projects and publications. A link to the NNP has been added to our Resources and Policies page, or you can go there directly using this URL: http://nnp.drugabuse.gov.

February 3, 2008
Four CTN Platform Articles about Smoking in Community Treatment Programs in Latest Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.

The latest issue of Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, edited by CTN researcher Joseph Guydish, features four articles using the CTN Platform to examine smoking in addiction treatment programs:


December 7, 2007
Articles about TELE and MIEDAR Featured in Latest Issue of American Journal on Addictions.

The latest issue of American Journal on Addictions (vol. 16(6)) features two new CTN-related articles. The first, entitled "Telephone Enhancement of Long-Term Engagement (TELE) in Continuing Care for Substance Abuse Treatment: A NIDA Clinical Trials Network (CTN) Study," is by Robert Hubbard and colleagues, and reports on the efficacy of telephone calls to patients after discharge from treatment programs to encourage compliance with continuing care plans (CTN-0011). The second article, "Clinic Variation in the Cost-Effectiveness of Contingency Management," by Todd Olmstead and colleagues, describes an ancillary/platform study that found that the cost-effectiveness of CM varied widely among the clinics in the MIEDAR trial (CTN-0006).

November 13, 2007
Effectiveness of Abstinence-Based Incentives: Interaction With Intake Stimulant Test Results.

This Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology article by Maxine L. Stitzer, Nancy M. Petry, Jessica M. Peirce, and colleagues, describes a platform/ancillary study that examined data from CTN-0006 (a multisite study of abstinence incentives for stimulant abusers in outpatient treatment) to determine the impact of baseline urine test results on overall treatment outcome. [read more]


November 7, 2007
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Fluoxetine and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Adolescents with Major Depression, Behavior Problems, and Substance Use Disorders.

This article in Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine (by Paula Riggs, Susan Mikulich-Gilbertson, Robert Davies, and colleagues) reports on the controlled efficacy study on which protocol NIDA-CTN-0028 is closely modeled. The study examined the effectiveness of fluoxetine hydrochloride vs. placebo in adolescents with co-occurring depressive disorder and substance use disorder (SUD). [read more]

November 6, 2007
Smoking Cessation Treatment at Community-Based Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Programs.

This in-press Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment article by Malcolm Reid, Bryan Fallon, Susan Sonne, and colleagues, reports on the outcomes of CTN-0009, a multisite clinical trial of smoking cessation treatment in outpatient community-based substance abuse rehabilitation programs. [read more]

November 5, 2007
Statistical Methodology for a SMART Design in the Development of Adaptive Treatment Strategies.

This technical report from Alena Scott and Susan A. Murphy (Pennsylvania State University's Methodology Center), and Janet Levy (NIDA Center for the Clinical Trials Network), discusses the way a specialized experimental research design called a "Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial" (or "SMART Trial") could be used to develop "adaptive treatment strategies" -- sequences of treatments guided by a patient's responses to prior treatments. Using an example of an adaptive treatment strategy modeled after CTN-0001/2, the authors demonstrate how a SMART trial could be used to develop such sequences of treatments and make recommendations for future methodological research. [read more]

October 26, 2007
Staff Turnover and Retention in Addiction Treatment:
Annotated Bibliography.

Developed by the Health Services Research Special Interest Group (SIG) of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network, this annotated bibliography is designed to briefly review the literature regarding staff turnover and retention in addiction treatment programs. [read more]


October 23, 2007
Presentations from the 2007 Addiction Health Services Research Conference

A number of CTN researchers presented at October's AHSR conference in Athens, GA, the theme of which was "Sustainability and Change: Challenges for Research and Practice." The following presentations and posters from AHSR 2007 have just been added to the CTN Dissemination Library:

The CTN Research Utilization Committee: Putting Dissemination Research into Practice (Jeffrey A. Selzer). This presentation describes the mission of the RUC, charged with the task of helping community treatment programs within the CTN adopt CTN tested interventions, and focuses in particular on the activities of the Motivational Interviewing Workgroup as an example of how dissemination research findings can be put into practice.

Integrating Services Research into CTN Clinical Trials: The Synergy is in the Details (Harold I. Perl)
This presentation describes the interdigitation of three different services research projects into CTN-supported clinical trials and highlights the specific demands inherent when this occurs at each of three stages in the host study’s progress.

Services Research & the CTN: We Keep Getting Better! (Redonna K. Chandler)
This presentation discusses the previous strategies and future trends of health services research in the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN).

A Process-Oriented Model of the Relationship between Clinical Supervision, Burnout, and Turnover Intentions among Substance Abuse Counselors (Lillian T. Eby, et al)
This poster describes the outcomes of a CTN platform study that surveyed 462 counselors employed at fifteen CTPs in the Clinical Trials Network, examining two dimensions of burnout: depersonalization and emotional exhaustion.

October 23, 2007
A Federal Effort to Bridge the Gap: NIDA's Blending Initiative Places Community Providers at the Leading Edge of New Treatment Knowledge.

NIDA Deputy Director Tim Condon describes the NIDA/SAMHSA-ATTC Blending Initiative and the products it has created, which are designed to foster adoption of new research-based treatment strategies in community treatment programs and beyond. [read more]

October 18, 2007
The Science of Treatment: Dissemination of Research-Based Drug Addiction Treatment Findings (Blending Team Product).

This set of CD-ROMs combines all five products developed through the NIDA/SAMHSA-ATTC Blending Initiative into a single package. Each of the disks contains training materials, PowerPoint presentations, and other resources needed to facilitate the adoption of science-based interventions in community settings. [read more]

September 26, 2007
MIA:STEP Blending Team Product updated in August 2007.

The Motivational Interviewing Assessment: Supervisory Tools for Enhancing Proficiency (MIA:STEP) product of the NIDA/SAMHSA-ATTC Blending Initiative was updated in August 2007 with several editorial changes (including corrections, simplifications of some of the interview rating forms, and revisions to the training curriculum in section I of the package). The newest version of this product is now available in the CTN Dissemination Library, as well as on the Northwest Frontier ATTC web site. [read more]

September 25, 2007
Implementation of a Smoking Cessation Treatment Study at Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Programs: Smoking Behavior and Treatment Feasibility Across Varied Community-Based Outpatient Programs.

This article in Journal on Addiction Medicine, by Malcolm S. Reid, Bryan Fallon, Susan Sonne, and colleagues, summarizes the practical and clinical experiences encountered at each of the study sites participating in CTN-0009 with regard to their implementation of a transdermal nicotine patch smoking cessation intervention as an adjunct to substance abuse treatment-as-usual. [read more]

September 19, 2007
Four Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles Added to the CTN Dissemination Library.

Treatment Programs in the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network by McCarty, Fuller, Kaskutas, Wendt, et al. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2007 (in press).
This article reports results of two surveys designed to describe the levels of care, ancillary services, patient demographics, and patient drug use and co-occurring conditions in CTPs participating in the CTN (as part of protocol CTN-0008).

Abstinence-Based Incentives in Methadone Maintenance: Interaction with Intake Stimulant Test Results by Stitzer, Peirce, Petry, Kirby, et al. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology 2007;15(4):344-350.
This article examines the association between baseline urine test results and treatment outcome in stabilized methadone maintenance patients with ongoing stimulant use, to determine whether abstinence outcomes were differentially effective in those testing negative vs. positive for stimulants at study entry.
(based on CTN-0007)

How Health Services Research Can Help Clinical Trials Become More Community Relevant by Douglas Polcin. International Journal of Drug Policy 2006;17(3):230-237.
This paper suggests that addiction researchers need to look beyond the question of whether an intervention is "effective," and examine the community context within which interventions are delivered.

Clinicians' Beliefs and Awareness of Substance Abuse Treatments in Research- and Nonresearch-Affiliated Programs by Arfken, Agius, Dickson, et al. Journal of Drug Issues 2005;35(3):547-558.
This article reports on a study designed to determine whether or not research-affiliated treatment programs differ from non-research-affiliated programs when it comes to addiction treatment beliefs and awareness of CTN-tested treatment innovations.

  
 

September 18 , 2007
Research Network Involvement and Addiction Treatment Center Staff: Counselor Attitudes toward Buprenorphine.

This article in American Journal on Addictions by Hannah K. Knudsen, Lori J. Ducharme, and Paul M. Roman of the National Treatment Center Study (U. Georgia) reports on a platform/ancillary investigation that discovered a significant difference between the attitudes of CTN-affiliated and non-affiliated counselors toward buprenorphine as a treatment innovation. [read more]

September 9, 2007
National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network: The First 7 Years.

This four-page pamphlet by the NIDA Center for the Clinical Trials Network (NIDA CCTN) provides an overview of the CTN from its inception to the present, including key findings from several of its completed protocols, a discussion of the CTN's impact on communities at the local, regional, and state level, and information about the CTN Dissemination Library, a free public resource containing CTN's research findings and other materials related to the project. [read more]

September 5, 2007 (updated October 10, 2007)
2007 American Psychological Association (APA) Annual Convention - CTN-Related Presentations

Presentations from this year's APA Convention (held August 17-20, 2007, in San Francisco, CA) have begun to roll into the CTN Dissemination Library. If you gave a presentation at the conference about CTN research and would like to have your presentation included in the Library's digital collection, please email us at: info@ctndisseminationlibrary.org.

Joan E. Zweben, PhD (CA/AZ Node) sent her presentation entitled, "Implementing EBPs in a Community Treatment Program: Beyond Instruction." This presentation describes a number of the "key ingredients" needed to promote implementation in community-based programs, taking successful dissemination a step beyond the traditional "conference-based" approach.

Lisa Metsch, PhD (University of Miami, FL Node), submitted her presentation about upcoming protocol, CTN-0032. The presentation, entitled "Rapid Testing and Counseling Research in the CTN," describes the new study, which aims to conduct a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of implementing HIV rapid testing (results in 20 minutes) and counseling into drug treatment sites.

From the Long Island Node, Denise Hien, PhD, submitted her presentation about protocol CTN-0015, "Early Findings from NIDA's Clinical Trials Network 'Women and Trauma' Study."

James L. Sorensen, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco (CA/AZ Node), submitted two presentations. The first focuses on basic principles of diffusion of innovations and is titled, "In the Diffusion of Innovations Everyone Changes: Linking Practice with Scientific Research." The second takes a closer look at "Future HIV Research Efforts Planned for the Clinical Trials Network."

Gregory S. Brigham, PhD, of Maryhaven Inc. (OV Node) submitted his presentation entitled, "The Value of Ongoing Evaluation in Adopting Buprenorphine-Naloxone Short-Term Taper." Maryhaven had a favorable experience in protocol CTN-0001 and decided to implement a similar short-term BNX treatment for their patients after the study was over. This presentation highlights the need for ongoing evaluation and feedback when implementing a new intervention.

The presentation, "Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) in Community Treatment Programs: EBPs are Just One Piece of the Pie," by Michael S. Levy, PhD (CAB Health and Recovery Services, NNE Node), highlights important aspects of care that must not be forgotten while community treatment providers are focused on implementing evidence-based practices.

Joseph Guydish, PhD, (University of California, San Francisco, CA/AZ Node) submitted his presentation on MI/MET, "Adoption of Motivational Interviewing/Motivational Enhancement Therapy," which reports on adoption outcomes in the wake of five CTPs' participation in the CTN-0004 and CTN-0005 trials.

August 22, 2007
Cost-Effectiveness of Prize-Based Contingency Management in Methadone Maintenance Treatment Programs.

This article in the latest issue of Addiction is written by Jody Sindelar, Todd Olmstead, and Jessica Peirce. It reports on a cost-effectiveness study of protocol CTN-0007, designed to determine if prize-based contingency management, which has been shown to improve treatment outcomes over usual care, is worth the additional cost to treatment agencies. [read more]

August 20, 2007
Research Participation and Turnover Intention: An Exploratory Analysis of Substance Abuse Counselors.

This article in Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment by Hannah K. Knudsen, Lori J. Ducharme, and Paul M. Roman, reports on a platform/ancillary investigation that examined the association between CTP counselors' reactions to research experiences and their turnover intention (intention to stay in or leave their jobs). [read more]

August 8, 2007
Two New Ancillary/Platform Studies in American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

The latest issue of American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse features two new articles on CTN ancillary/platform studies. The first, by Therese Killeen, Rickey E. Carter, Marc L. Copersino, Nancy Petry, and Maxine Stitzer is titled, "Effectiveness of Motivational Incentives in Stimulant Abusing Outpatients with Different Treatment Histories." It reports on an examination of the characteristics and outcomes of less versus more treatment experienced by participants in the CTN-0006 trial, in an attempt to determine if prize-based abstinence incentives would differentially affect substance abuse outcomes in patients with different treatment histories. [read more]

The second article is titled "Providing Live Supervision via Teleconferencing Improves Acquisition of Motivational Interviewing Skills After Workshop Attendance." In this one, authors Jennifer L. Smith, Paul C. Amrhein, Adam C. Brooks and colleagues describe a method for training community-based substance abuse clinicians in Motivational Interviewing called "Teleconferencing Supervision." This platform study used 3 CTPs from the Long Island Node to evaluate the effectiveness of telephone-based post-training supervision. [read more]

August 8, 2007
Site Matters: Multisite Randomized Trial of Motivational Enhancement Therapy in Community Drug Abuse Clinics.

This article in Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology by Samuel A. Ball, Deborah Van Horn, Paul Crits-Cristoph, and colleagues, reports on protocol CTN-0004, a multi-site randomized clinical trial investigating the effectiveness of motivational enhancement therapy (MET) in comparison with counseling as usual (CAU) for increasing retention and reducing substance use. [read more]

August 3, 2007
New Articles on Sexually Transmitted Infections in Substance Abuse Treatment Programs and on the Innovative TELE Program for Promoting Continued Treatment.

Two new CTN-related articles have just been added to the Library. The first, by Lawrence S. Brown, Jr, Steve Kritz, R. Jeffrey Goldsmith, and colleagues is titled, "Health Services for HIV/AIDS, HCV, and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Substance Abuse Treatment Programs." The article reports on CTN-0012's survey of state policies, reimbursement for providers, state level of priority, and treatment program characteristics in a number of treatment programs in the CTN. [read more]

The second article, published in Counselor magazine, is titled "Can You Hear Me Now? An Innovation to Promote Continued Treatment." In this article, authors Louise F. Haynes, Nancy Waite-O'Brien, and Robert L. Hubbard describe CTN-0011, the TELE project. This pilot test that examined the feasibility of using a telephone-based intervention to help encourage patients recently released from inpatient programs to stay active in continuing care. [read more]



June 26, 2007, updated July 16, 2007
College on Problems of Drug Dependence annual meeting, 2007: Presentations are rolling in!

The annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) was held last week in Quebec City, Canada, and already the presentations and posters have begun to roll in. As more become available in the CTN Dissemination Library, they will be listed here, so check back periodically for updates, or subscribe to our RSS feed above.

Traci Rieckmann's poster, "Exploration of the Substance Abuse Treatment Workforce: Education, Preparation and Certification," describes a survey taken as part of CTN-0008 that examines the professional development and credentials of counselors and managers/supervisors in the CTN.

Bridget McClure's poster, "A Randomized Controlled, Multi-Site Study of the Effect of Patient Feedback on Rates of Attendance and Abstinence in Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Programs -- An Interim Progress Report," describes an ongoing clinical trial evaluating the effectiveness of the Patient Feedback system (previously studied as part of CTN-0016) at 35 adult outpatient substance abuse clinics in New York City and Philadelphia.

Robert Booth, PhD submitted his presentation about CTN-0017, "HIV and HCV Risk Reduction Interventions in Drug Detoxification and Treatment Settings." This short presentation was part of a symposium on HIV/AIDS research in the CTN and offers a description of the study objections and "outcomes so far."

Malcolm Reid, PhD submitted a poster about CTN-0009. The poster, "Smoking Cessation Treatment at Community-Based Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Programs : Impact on Cigarette Smoking," demonstrates that smoking cessation treatment, when given concurrently with outpatient substance abuse treatment, results in significant reductions in daily smoking and modest levels of smoking abstinence.

Therese Killeen, PhD submitted a poster about CTN-0015 entitled, "Frequency and Type of Adverse Events Associated with Treating Women with Trauma in Community Substance Abuse Treatment Programs." This poster describes the adverse events reported by women participating in their study, which compared the Seeking Safety program with a women's health education intervention for trauma and a substance use disorder.

Steve Kritz, MD submitted a poster and presentation, both about CTN-0012. The poster is entitled "States and Substance Abuse Treatment Programs: Priorities, Guidelines and Funding for Infection-Related Services" and the presentation is "Hepatitis B Virus and Hepatitis C Virus Services Offered by Substance Abuse Treatment Programs in the United States." Both address the services for infectious diseases offered by substance abuse treatment programs.

Maxine Stitzer, PhD submitted her presentation about CTN-0007, entitled, "Abstinence Incentives for Methadone-Maintained Stimulant Users : Outcomes for Those Testing Stimulant-Positive versus Negative at Study Intake." This presentation assesses the association between intake urine test result and treatment outcome, and whether abstinence incentives were effective in methadone-maintained stimulant users testing stimulant-negative versus -positive at study entry.

Susan Sonne, PharmD submitted her and her colleagues' poster about CTN-0009, "Effect of Depression on Smoking Cessation Outcomes." The data in this poster suggests that for individuals with substance dependence who are interested in quitting smoking, evaluation and treatment of depressive symptoms may play an important role in improving smoking cessation outcomes.

A poster submitted by Martha Jessup, RN, PhD discusses a platform/ancillary study that surveyed research and clinical staff involved in protocol CTN-0004 to learn their opinions on "The Place of Adoption in the NIDA Clinical Trials Network."

Louise Haynes, MSW submitted her poster, "Aftercare Attendance Partially Moderated by History of Physical Abuse and Gender." This poster describes a secondary analysis of CTN-0011 data, examining the relationship of participant gender on aftercare attendance, and the moderating effects of physical abuse.

Submit your CPDD posters and presentations by emailing them to the Library at info@ctndisseminationlibrary.org.

June 26, 2007
Articles on Spanish-Language Multi-Site Trials and Quality and Performance Improvements.

Two new CTN-related articles have just been added to the Library. The first is in American Journal on Addictions and is entitled, "Issues in Designing and Implementing a Spanish-Language Multi-Site Clinical Trial." Authors Lourdes Suarez-Morales, Julie Matthews, Steve Martino, and colleagues discuss the challenges they faced in implementing protocol CTN-0021 (MET for Spanish speakers), and offer strategies to help meet those challenges in the future. [read more]

The second article, published in NIDA Science & Practice Perspectives, is titled "Quality and Performance Improvements: What's a Program to Do?" In this article, author Frank McCorry describes some of the shifts underway in the world of addiction treatment in regards to implementing evidence-based practices, and describes a variety of programs (including the CTN) that have been developed to examine EBPs. [read more]

June 20, 2007
Using Standardized Patients (SPs) to Pilot Screening Visits in Clinical Trials.

This poster, presented at the Society for Clinical Trials Annual Meeting in Montreal, Canada (May 20-23, 2007),
summarizes the use of an SP to test patient screening and intake processes for two clinical trials conducted in the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network, CTN-0029 ("A Pilot Study of Osmotic-Release Methylphenidate in Initiating and Maintaining Abstinence in Smokers with ADHD") and CTN-0030 ("Prescription Opioid Addiction Treatment Study (POATS)"). [read more]

June 13, 2007
CTN-0012 -- Infection-Related Health Services in Substance Abuse Treatment Centers (6 posters & presentations).

New this week in the CTN Library are five posters and one presentation about CTN-0012, by Lawrence S. Brown Jr., Steven A. Kritz, Edmund J. Bini, and colleagues. Each poster or presentation focuses on a different facet of the CTN-0012 project, including:

June 11, 2007
CTN Dissemination Library adds RSS Feed.

Now it's even easier to keep up with additions to the CTN Dissemination Library! We added an RSS Feed to this page to provide RSS-users with a simple way to find out whenever something new is added to the Library. To subscribe, right-click on the blue RSS icon above (it's also on the home page) and select "Copy Shortcut" from the menu, then paste the link into your RSS reader, e.g. Google Reader.

Not sure what an RSS feed is? Feeds make it easier for web site readers to stay on top of their favorite pages, by grabbing headlines and summaries from a variety of sites and displaying them all in the same place (a feed reader). Install or set up the feed reader of your choice (we use Google Reader here at the Library) and begin adding feeds from your favorite pages. Then, instead of navigating to each site one at a time to see if new content has been added, you can simply open Google Reader and quickly see which pages have been updated.

Learn more about RSS feeds here, and please feel free to email the Library if you have any questions (info@ctndisseminationlibrary.org).

May 29, 2007
Update on the Clinical Trials Network.

This presentation, by Betty Tai, Director of the Center for the Clinical Trials Network at NIDA, was presented to the NIDA Advisory Council on May 16, 2007. It features a description of the CTN history, its overall goals, and its rectified vision to bring drug abuse treatment into mainstream medical practice, as well as an overview of multiple facets of the project: current and upcoming protocols, the SAMHSA/NIDA "Blending" initiative with the ATTCs, the CTN Dissemination Library, and current challenges. [Read more]

 

May 18, 2007
Challenges in the Adoption of New Pharmacotherapeutics for Addiction to Alcohol and Other Drugs.

This 2005 Pharmacology & Therapeutics article, by Andrew Saxon and Dennis McCarty, uses CTN-0001 and CTN-0002 as examples in discussing the role of pharmacotherapy in addiction and the various factors that affect the adoption and use of medications for alcohol and drug treatment. [Read more.]

 

May 17, 2007
New in JSAT: Patient Feedback Feasibility Study and Platform/Ancillary Investigation on Innovation Adoption.

Two CTN-related articles are in press in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment (available online pre-publication). The first, "A Feasibility Study of a Web-Based Performance Improvement System for Substance Abuse Treatment Providers," by Robert Forman, Paul Crits-Cristoph, Ovgu Kaynak, Matt Worley, and colleagues, examines the feasibility of implementing the Patient Feedback system (CTN-0016) in outpatient substance abuse clinics. [Read more]

The second, "Innovation Adoption in Substance Abuse Treatment: Exposure, Trialability, and the Clinical Trials Network" by Lori Ducharme, Hannah Knudsen, Paul Roman, and J. Aaron Johnson, looks at whether or not exposure to the Clinical Trials Network or similar research networks influences the adoption of new treatment innovations. [Read more]

 

 

 

May 12, 2007
Let 'em Work, Let 'em Live -- A New Article about CTN-0020

Sudie E. Back, A'Delle Chellis, Dace S. Svikis, and Kathleen T. Brady write in the latest issue of Addiction Professional. They describe the Job Seekers' Workshop, a program whose main goal is to improve clients' job seeking and interviewing skills, using three 4-hour group workshops delivered weekly. The JSW intervention was studied in CTN-0020, "Job Seekers Training for Patients with Drug Dependence." This article details the objectives, activities, and challenges that can arise when implementing the JSW intervention. [Read more.]

Also in this issue is an article about the New England ATTC's work to help NIDA "prepare the field" for the dissemination and implementation of interventions coming out of the CTN. In "Assistance in Adopting New Practices," Stephen Gumbley, Daniel Squires, and Susan Storti describe the steps they took to address barriers, support the adoption process, and develop successful models for change. [Read more.]

April 11, 2007
Workshop on Adaptive Strategies.

This three-part workshop was presented at the March 22, 2007 Steering Committee meeting by Janet Levy, James McKay, Carl Pieper, and Madhukar Trivedi. It addresses the concept of "adaptive strategies" in treatment and treatment research, and provides examples and future directions for the concept in the CTN. Adaptive strategies provide a framework for tailoring an individual patient's therapy to his/her responses to previous therapies. This type of approach is currently being applied in the POATS protocol, CTN-0030. [Click here for more.]

April 10, 2007
More October 2006 NIDA Blending Conference Presentations.

The CTN Librarians recently added four more presentations from the October 2006 NIDA Blending Conference (held in Seattle, WA). The newly-included presentations are on a variety of topics, including three Blending Team Products (S.M.A.R.T. Treatment Planning (Carise, Stilen, Jackson), Promoting Awareness of Motivational Incentives (PAMI) (Albright, Stitzer, Hamilton), and Motivational Interviewing Assessment: Supervisory Tools for Enhancing Proficiency (MIA:STEP) (Gallon, Martino, Farentinos)), as well as Supervision and Implementation in a CTP (Davidson). If you gave a CTN-related presentation at Blending and we haven't included it in the Library, please let us know!

March 30, 2007
'Tweaking 12-Step' : The Potential Role of 12-Step Self-Help Group Involvement in Methamphetamine Recovery.

This review article in Addiction, by Dennis M. Donovan and Elizabeth Wells of the Washington Node, is the product of development work done for Protocol CTN-0031, "Stimulant Abuser Groups to Engage in 12-Step (STAGE-12)." The authors aimed to determine from a review of the available literature the extent to which involvement in 12-Step mutual support groups could play a role in the recovery process for individuals abusing or dependent on methamphetamine. [Click here for more.]

March 22, 2007
Multi-Level Assessment Protocol (MAP) for Adoption in Multisite Clinical Trials.

This 2005 article in Journal of Drug Issues reports on a CTN Platform Study conducted by Joseph Guydish, PhD, Sarah Turcotte Manser, MA, Martha Jessup, RN, PhD, and colleagues. Using qualitative research methods, the authors asked the following question: How might the technology of multisite clinical trials be modified to better support adoption of tested interventions? Analysis of interview data revealed four conceptual themes likely to affect adoption and may be informative in future multisite clinical trials. [Click here for more.]

March 3, 2007
Contingency Management: An Evidence-Based Component of Methamphetamine Use Disorder Treatments.

This new article in Addiction, by John M. Roll of the Washington Node, briefly reviews the available evidence regarding the utility of contingency management in treating methamphetamine use disorders. It includes a section detailing the methods and results of protocols CTN-0006 and CTN-0007, two CTN protocols that studied the use of contingency management on patients diagnosed with stimulant use disorders (cocaine or methamphetamine). [Click here for more.]

February 27, 2007
Two National Treatment Center Study Reports Offer In-Depth Profiles of the CTPs.

Two reports about the CTN ("Clinical Trials Network Summary and Comparison Report" and "Clinical Trials Network: Counselor-Level Data on Evidence-Based Treatment Practices"), prepared by the National Treatment Center Study at the University of Georgia, have been added to the CTN Library collection. The reports, by Paul Roman, PhD, J. Aaron Johnson, PhD, Lori Ducharme, PhD, and colleagues both include data taken from a sample of CTPs in the CTN, examining in detail the CTPs staff demographics, the services offered, funding sources, and treatment modalities. The NTCS project is continuing to collect longitudinal data from these CTPs, which will address an even larger goal: to identify whether exposure to clinical trials and CTN activities significantly enhances a program's likelihood of adopting evidence-based practices. [Click here for more.]

February 12, 2007
AIDS Research and Ethnic Disparities in the CTN

Two new CTN-related in-press articles were recently posted online at the Drug and Alcohol Dependence web site. The first, "AIDS Research in the NIDA Clinical Trials Network: Emerging Results" by Jim Sorensen, Lawrence Brown, Don Calsyn, and colleagues, is a report (based on a symposium from the 2006 CPDD meeting) of preliminary results from several CTN trials that address both prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS (CTN-0012, 0017, 0018, and 0019). The second article, also based on a symposium at CPDD, is by Kathleen Carroll, Carmen Rosa, Lawrence Brown, and colleagues, and is entitled "Addressing Ethnic Disparities in Drug Abuse Treatment in the Clinical Trials Network." This article examines the activities and strategies used to address the issues of ethnic disparities in CTN-0017, 0020, and 0021.

February 11, 2007
Direct Care Workers in the CTN: Characteristics, Opinions, and Beliefs.

This Psychiatric Services article, by Dennis McCarty, Bret Fuller, Cynthia Arfken, and colleagues, examines the results of a set of surveys distributed as part of CTN-0008 to gather information about the CTN workforce and to assess support amongst CTP staff for evidence-based therapies. A commentary on this article, written by Henrick Harwood, is also available. [Click here for more.]

January 29, 2007
Phoenix House (Long Island Node) Adopts Buprenorphine Treatment Permanently in Their New Program "First Step"

Eric Collins, Terry Horton, Leslie Amass, and their colleagues have an article in-press at the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment about Phoenix House's adoption of buprenorphine/naloxone treatment in their new program, "First Step." After participating in protocol NIDA-CTN-0001, about buprenorphine/naloxone treatment for opioid dependence, Phoenix House, of the Long Island Node, saw first-hand how successful this therapy was for their patients. As a result, they began a new program in their therapeutic community, "First Step," which provides an on-site, short-term, flexible regiment of buprenorphine-naloxone. This paper describes the initial outcomes of this novel program. [Click here for more.]

January 17, 2007
On Blending Practice and Research: The Search for Commonalities in Substance Abuse Treatment.

This Substance Abuse article, by Scott Kellogg and Mary Jeanne Kreek of the New York Node, examines the issue of integrating research and practice in the field of substance abuse. It talks briefly about the CTN, as well as NIDA's Blending Meetings, and contends that the development of shared core concepts could potentially be quite helpful in facilitating communication and creating common treatment and research goals. [Click here for more.]

January 10, 2006
Three Presentations about CTN-0015 (Women and Trauma).

Aimee Campbell, Denise Hien, and their colleagues from the Long Island Node, recently submitted three presentations they've given recently about protocol CTN-0015 ("Women's Treatment for Trauma and Substance Use Disorders"). The first one, "Integrated Treatment for Trauma and Addiction: Seeking Safety," was presented at October's NIDA/ATTC Blending Conference in Seattle. The second ("Treatment for Co-occurring PTSD and Substance Use Disorders...") is set of three presentations given at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies conference in November. Finally, "CTN 0015: Preliminary Findings from 'Women and Trauma'" was presented at the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry Annual Meeting and Symposium on December 10th, 2006.

January 5, 2007
The Latest from Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment: More CTN-0001 Outcomes and an Ancillary Investigation about Adoption of Evidence-Based Practices.

Two in-press articles are now available in prepublication format from the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. The first, by Greg Brigham, Leslie Amass, et al., is an outcomes paper from protocol NIDA-CTN-0001 (Buprenorphine/Naloxone vs. Clonidine) titled "Using Buprenorphine Short-Term Taper to Facilitate Early Treatment Engagement." The second article, by Joseph Guydish, Barbara Tajima, et al., is based on an ancillary investigation that looked at strategies for supporting the adoption of tested interventions in study clinics after their participation in the CTN-related trials is over. This article is titled, "Strategies to Encourage Adoption in Multisite Trials."

 

 

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