Direct-To-Definitive Urine and Oral Fluid Test Results for Unscreened and Rarely Screened Drugs in Individuals Applying for Methadone Treatment in 7 U.S. States.

The standard protocol in addiction treatment/pain management is to conduct immunoassay screens for major drugs subject to misuse, followed by confirmatory testing of positive results. However, this may miss unscreened or rarely screened drugs that could pose risks, especially to polydrug users. We sought to determine the prevalences of unscreened/rarely screened drugs in a sample of individuals misusing drugs in 7 U.

Gender Differences in Drug Use among Individuals Under Arrest.

Background: Drug monitoring by drug testing of individuals under arrest provides an opportunity to detect drug use patterns within geographic areas. However, women have been omitted from large-scale monitoring efforts in criminal justice populations. The purpose of this study was to examine whether gender differences exist in drug use indicated by oral fluid collected in one U.

Comparing presumptive with direct-to-definitive drug testing in oral fluid vs. urine for a U.S. national sample of individuals misusing drugs.

Background: The aims are to compare the results of presumptive drug testing with confirmation of positives vs. direct-to-definitive drug testing, combined with investigation of urine vs. oral fluid as test matrices.

Discrepancies in Ratings of Behavioral Healthcare Interventions Among Evidence-Based Program Resources Websites.

Decision makers in the behavioral health disciplines could benefit from tools to assist them in identifying and implementing evidence-based interventions. One tool is an evidence-based program resources website (EBPR). Prior studies documented that when multiple EBPRs rate an intervention, they may disagree.

The influence of evidence-based program registry websites for dissemination of evidence-based interventions in behavioral healthcare.

Purpose: Evidence-based program registries (EBPRs) are web-based databases of evaluation studies that summarize the available evidence for the effectiveness of behavioral healthcare programs, including programs addressing substance misuse, mental health, child welfare, or offender rehabilitation. The study determined the extent to which visitors to selected EBPRs accomplished the objectives of their visits and how often those visits resulted in the adoption of new or improved evidence-based interventions (EBIs).

Method: A follow-up telephone survey was conducted with 216 visitors to a convenience sample of six EBPRs an average of six months after the visitors' incident visit to the EBPR.

A Scoping Review of the Influence of Evidence-Based Program Resources (EBPR) Websites for Behavioral Health.

Evidence-based program resources (EBPR) websites evaluate behavioral health programs, practices or policies (i.e., interventions) according to a predetermined set of research criteria and standards, usually resulting in a summary rating of the strength of an intervention's evidence base.

Utilization of Evidence-based Intervention Criteria in U.S. Federal Grant Funding Announcements for Behavioral Healthcare.

Recent U.S. federal government policy has required or recommended the use of evidence-based interventions (EBIs), so that it is important to determine the extent to which this priority is reflected in actual federal solicitations for intervention funding, particularly for behavioral healthcare interventions.

Visitors' Assessment and Utilization of Evidence-Based Program Resources (EBPR) Websites.

Evidence-based program resources (EBPR) websites for behavioral health are a potentially useful tool to assist decision-makers and practitioners in deciding which behavioral health interventions to implement. EBPR websites apply rigorous research standards to assess the effectiveness of behavioral healthcare programs, models, and clinical practices. Visitors to a convenience sample of six EBPR websites (N=369, excluding students) were recruited for telephone interviews primarily by means of a pop-up invitation on the sites.

References to Evidence-based Program Registry (EBPR) websites for behavioral health in U.S. state government statutes and regulations.

Background And Aim: U.S. state governments have the responsibility to regulate and license behavioral healthcare interventions, such as for addiction and mental illness, with increasing emphasis on implementing evidence-based programs (EBPs).

Variations in Definitions of Evidence-Based Interventions for Behavioral Health in Eight Selected U.S. States.

Background: U.S. state legislatures fill a vital role in supporting the use of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) through statutes and regulations (mandates).

State Department and Provider Agency Utilization of Evidence-Based Program Registries in Behavioral Healthcare and Child Welfare.

Evidence-based program registries (EBPRs) are web-based compilations of behavioral healthcare programs/interventions that rely on research-based criteria to rate program efficacy or effectiveness for support of programmatic decision-making. The objective was to determine the extent to which behavioral health decision-makers access EBPRs and to understand whether and exactly how they use the information obtained from EPBRs. Single State Authorities (SSAs) and service provider agencies in the areas of behavioral health and child welfare were recruited nationally.

State behavioral health agency website references to evidence-based program registers.

Purpose: Evidence-based program registers (EBPRs) are important tools for facilitating the use of evidence-based practices or programs (EBPs) by state statutory agencies responsible for behavioral healthcare, broadly defined as substance misuse, mental health, HIV/AIDS prevention, child welfare, and offender rehabilitation. There are currently no data on the purposes for which such state agencies reference EBPRs on their official websites.

Method: A webscraping method was used to identify and classify relevant "hits", defined as a state behavioral health webpage with single or multiple references to a study EBPR.

Surveillance by oral fluid of drugs subject to misuse among individuals under arrest.

: Between 1988 and 2013 the U.S. government conducted surveillance of national drug misuse use trends by collecting voluntary urine specimens from individuals under arrest in major counties.

The Effectiveness of Interventions Intended to Improve Employment Outcomes for Persons with Substance Use Disorder: An Updated Systematic Review.

Employment is one of the strongest predictors of positive outcomes for persons with substance use disorder. To conduct a systematic review of interventions intended to improve employment outcomes for persons with substance use disorder (SUD) at any stage of recovery. This is an update of a prior review published in 2004.

Social capital, substance use disorder and depression among youths.

Background: Social capital - the network of social connections that exists among people - is known to be related to depression and substance use among adults. However, little is known about these relationships among adolescents, even though this age group is vulnerable due to factors of peer pressure, family, neighborhood, and maturational changes.

Objectives: To evaluate the associations among social capital, substance use disorder and depression on a sample of 17 705 respondents between the ages of 12 and 17 in the 2009 National Survey of Drug Use and Health.

Conducting Rapid Street Assessment of Drug Users in New York City Using Oral Fluid and Brief Interviews: A Feasibility Study.

This study piloted the feasibility of rapidly collecting both self-reports of drug use and saliva specimens for drug toxicology in field settings. The use of oral fluid collection devices to supplement self-reports is unproven in street settings and may pose challenges for field research. Sixty adults who identified as recent illicit drug users were recruited in public settings in New York City and were asked to complete a brief drug screening inventory and provided saliva specimens.

Adding urine and saliva toxicology to SBIRT for drug screening of new patients.

Background And Objectives: To determine illicit drug use among new patients in primary medical care who denied using "street drugs" during Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT).

Methods: 96 new patients who denied use of "street drugs" were tested for drugs as part of routine SBIRT screening.

Results: Of those tested, 14.

Comparing rating paradigms for evidence-based program registers in behavioral health: evidentiary criteria and implications for assessing programs.

Decision makers need timely and credible information about the effectiveness of behavioral health interventions. Online evidence-based program registers (EBPRs) have been developed to address this need. However, the methods by which these registers determine programs and practices as being “evidence-based” has not been investigated in detail.

An overview of evidence-based program registers (EBPRs) for behavioral health.

Evaluations of behavioral health interventions have identified many that are potentially effective. However, clinicians and other decision makers typically lack the time and ability to effectively search and synthesize the relevant research literature. In response to this opportunity, and to increasing policy and funding pressures for the use of evidence-based practices, a number of “what works” websites have emerged to assist decision makers in selecting interventions with the highest probability of benefit.

Risk factors for medication non-adherence among psychiatric patients with substance misuse histories.

Medication non-adherence among psychiatric patients is known to be associated with poorer treatment outcomes. The study examined a comprehensive set of modifiable risk factors for non-adherence in a theoretical framework among a diverse, high risk sample of psychiatric patients with substance misuse histories (N=299). Medication side effects and excessive alcohol use were related to lower medication adherence and higher motivation for mental health treatment and recovery support were related to greater adherence.

Efficacy of dual focus mutual aid for persons with mental illness and substance misuse.

Background: Previous studies have indicated that persons with co-occurring mental health and substance use problems can benefit by attending dual-focus mutual aid groups. However, to date, a trial to test the efficacy of these groups has not been published.

Method: This study randomly assigned 203 substance misusing clients attending a mental health or dual-diagnosis facility to either a dual-focus 12-step group (Double Trouble in Recovery; DTR) or a waiting list control group.

Consumers' Experiences in Dual Focus Mutual Aid for Co-occurring Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders.

Mutual aid fellowships have been shown to improve outcomes for those with co-occurring substance use and mental illness disorders. Processes associated with usefulness include helper therapy (the assumption of a helping role to foster commitment) and reciprocal learning (the sharing of problems and solutions among members). The present qualitative investigation used focus groups comprised a subset of participants in Double Trouble in Recovery (DTR), a 12-step mutual aid group for those with co-occurring disorders, to gather their subjective perceptions of the groups.

Evaluating Alcoholics Anonymous's effect on drinking in Project MATCH using cross-lagged regression panel analysis.

Objective: The objective of the study is to determine whether Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) participation leads to reduced drinking and problems related to drinking within Project MATCH (Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Heterogeneity), an existing national alcoholism treatment data set.

Method: The method used is structural equation modeling of panel data with cross-lagged partial regression coefficients. The main advantage of this technique for the analysis of AA outcomes is that potential reciprocal causation between AA participation and drinking behavior can be explicitly modeled through the specification of finite causal lags.

Factors associated with medication adherence among psychiatric outpatients at substance abuse risk.

Substance misuse is usually associated with poorer psychiatric medication adherence among psychiatric patients. Identifying predictors of medication adherence among patients with dual psychiatric and substance misuse problems is important because poor adherence is associated with relapse and re-hospitalization. The subjects were patients newly admitted to a psychiatric outpatient program who were prescribed psychiatric medication from different providers during the six months prior to admission; all also had substance misuse histories (N=131).