Clinical Trial Details
— Status: Enrolling by invitation
Administrative data
NCT number |
NCT05374395 |
Other study ID # |
21-097-2 |
Secondary ID |
|
Status |
Enrolling by invitation |
Phase |
N/A
|
First received |
|
Last updated |
|
Start date |
July 1, 2023 |
Est. completion date |
February 28, 2026 |
Study information
Verified date |
January 2024 |
Source |
UConn Health |
Contact |
n/a |
Is FDA regulated |
No |
Health authority |
|
Study type |
Interventional
|
Clinical Trial Summary
Emerging adults (ages 18-25) are at higher risk for substance use disorders, including opiate
addiction, than any other age group but are also more likely to drop out early from substance
use treatment services. This project will evaluate an enhancement to usual services,
delivered by peer recovery supports, specifically aimed at improving treatment adherence and
reducing dropout in this age group. The study will also answer key questions about risk
factors for dropout among emerging adults and the financial sustainability of enhancing
services to reduce dropout.
Description:
Emerging adults (EAs; ages 18-25) have higher rates of substance use disorders than any other
age group and have been hit particularly hard by the opioid crisis. EAs also demonstrate poor
adherence to healthcare regimens associated with substance use services, with higher dropout
rates and lower service utilization than any other age group. This poor adherence leads to
devastating outcomes, including continued substance use, incarceration, and overdose. In
addition, high dropout rates contribute to skyrocketing costs to treatment systems as a
result of more acute service needs, expensive service utilization, and long waitlists.
Cost-effective strategies that are aimed at improving treatment adherence to substance use
services and tailored to meet the unique developmental needs of EAs are an imminent need.
Further, little is known about risk factors for dropout specific to this age group, hindering
effective system responses to this significant problem.
At the same time, substance use service systems are increasingly using peer recovery supports
(PRS; i.e., paraprofessionals who have "lived experience" with substance use problems) to
bolster treatment outcomes without incurring considerable additional costs. However, services
delivered by PRS have not been tailored specifically to reduce EA dropout, and few have been
rigorously tested at all. The current study will evaluate an innovative EA-specific dropout
prevention enhancement to usual treatment services, delivered by PRS in community-based
substance use treatment clinics (Aim 1). The investigators will employ a stepped-wedge
cluster randomized design, resulting in each clinic having a longitudinal usual services
phase and a longitudinal dropout prevention phase. The two phases will be compared on rates
of EA dropout and service utilization using objective data from clinical charts.