Identifying and responding to trial implementation challenges during multisite clinical trials.

Introduction: The National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) was initiated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in 2000 with the aim of improving substance use treatment and reducing the time between the discovery of effective treatments and their implementation into clinical practice. While initial trials were conducted almost exclusively in specialty addiction treatment settings, the CTN began evolving strategically in 2010 to conduct research in general medical settings, including healthcare systems, primary care settings, emergency departments, and pharmacies, to broaden impact. The advantages of a research network like the CTN is not only the collective content expertise that investigators contribute to the network, but the collective experience gained by conducting studies in the network and then applying those lessons to future studies.

Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Exercise to Health Education for Stimulant Use Disorder: Results From the CTN-0037 STimulant Reduction Intervention Using Dosed Exercise (STRIDE) Study.

Objective: To evaluate exercise as a treatment for stimulant use disorders.

Methods: The STimulant Reduction Intervention using Dosed Exercise (STRIDE) study was a randomized clinical trial conducted in 9 residential addiction treatment programs across the United States from July 2010 to February 2013. Of 497 adults referred to the study, 302 met all eligibility criteria, including DSM-IV criteria for stimulant abuse and/or dependence, and were randomized to either a dosed exercise intervention (Exercise) or a health education intervention (Health Education) control, both augmenting treatment as usual and conducted thrice weekly for 12 weeks.

A cross-sectional assessment of the long term effects of brief strategic family therapy for adolescent substance use.

Background: Young adult drug use and law-breaking behaviors often have roots in adolescence. These behaviors are predicted by early drug use, parental substance use disorders, and disrupted and conflict-ridden family environments.

Aim: To examine long-term outcomes of Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT) compared to treatment as usual (TAU) in the rates of drug use, number of arrests and externalizing behaviors in young adults who were randomized into treatment conditions as adolescents.

Patient perspectives on the doctor of the future.

Background And Objectives: Health care reform has been the subject of considerable debate, particularly among those in politics, insurance, and business. Patients, however, have largely been ignored in this discussion. As the role of the health care consumer receives increased attention, it is important to consider patient values and preferences for a future system of care.