Mapping COVID vulnerability in relation to drug and alcohol recovery residence availability across the United States.

Recovery housing is an important resource for those in recovery from substance use disorders. Unfortunately, we know little about its relationship to key community health risk and protective factors, potentially limiting the role it could play as a broader health resource. Leveraging county-level data on recovery residences from the National Study of Treatment and Addiction Recovery Residences (NSTARR), this study used multilevel modeling to examine Community COVID Vulnerability Index (CCVI) scores as well as availability of COVID testing and vaccination sites in relation to recovery housing.

Social Model Recovery and Recovery Housing.

Recovery housing is an important resource for many in their recovery from alcohol and other drug use disorders. Yet providers of recovery housing face a number of challenges. Many of these challenges are rooted in stigma and bias about recovery housing.

Development and initial findings from the Peer Recovery Coach (PRC) checklist: a new tool to assess the nature of peer recovery coaching service delivery.

Peer recovery coaching is recovery support service for Substance Use Disorder (SUD) that emphasizes shared lived experience and social support. Though a promising intervention for SUD, differences in the roles, responsibilities, and operationalization of peer recovery coaching across studies make objective implementation and evaluation of this service a challenge. This study sought to develop a tool to better guide and operationalize peer recovery coaching service delivery.

Identifying the availability of recovery housing in the U.S.: The NSTARR project.

Background: Home is essential to recovery, and recovery housing can play an important role for individuals seeking a supportive environment. The National Study of Treatment and Addiction Recovery Residences (NSTARR) Project constitutes the largest and most diverse study of recovery housing to date. We describe the development of a national sampling frame to study recovery housing, as well as findings on availability and distribution of recovery housing across the U.

Association of facility characteristics and substance use disorder outcomes at discharge from residential treatment.

Introduction: Individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) may benefit from services and supports delivered in residential settings. Prior research in this area has primarily focused on individual-level factors that affect outcomes, with little focus on the relationship between facility-level characteristics and treatment outcomes.

Methods: Administrative data from 2713 individuals with an index enrollment in publicly funded residential treatment in Massachusetts during 2015 were linked with facility-level survey data from 33 treatment providers.

The role of recovery housing during outpatient substance use treatment.

Background: Recovery housing generally refers to alcohol- and drug-free living environments that provide peer support for those wanting to initiate and sustain recovery from alcohol and other drug (AOD) disorders. Despite a growing evidence base for recovery housing, relatively little research has focused on how recovery housing may benefit individuals accessing outpatient substance use treatment.

Methods: Using administrative and qualitative data from individuals attending an outpatient substance use treatment program in the Midwestern United States that provides recovery housing in a structured sober living environment, this mixed methods study sought to: (1) determine whether individuals who opted to live in structured sober living during outpatient treatment (N = 138) differed from those who did not (N = 842) on demographic, clinical, or service use characteristics; (2) examine whether living in structured sober living was associated with greater likelihood of satisfactory discharge and longer lengths of stay in outpatient treatment; and (3) explore what individuals (N = 7) who used the structured sober living during outpatient treatment were hoping to gain from the experience.

Recovery in context: Sober living houses and the ecology of recovery.

Sober living houses (SLHs) are an increasingly common element of the recovery support services landscape, yet little is known about their neighborhood context. This study describes neighborhoods in which SLHs are located and examines differences by house characteristics. SLHs in Los Angeles County (N = 297) were geocoded and linked with U.

Improving Recovery Outcomes among MSM: The Potential Role of Recovery Housing.

Background: Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) face unique recovery challenges. Recovery housing may play an important role in improving outcomes among MSM, but little is known about their experiences in these settings.

Methods: This study examined 3-month outcomes among MSM (N=22) living in a group of recovery residences in Texas, one of which is a home specifically designated for gay and bisexual men.

Sober living house characteristics: A multilevel analyses of factors associated with improved outcomes.

Safe and stable housing is integral to addiction recovery. Across numerous studies, recovery housing has been found to be associated with improvements in a variety of domains. Although procedures for operating some types of recovery housing have been manualized and national standards established, there are few empirical findings identifying which recovery residence characteristics may lead to improved outcomes.

Several Common Bonds: Addressing the Needs of Gay and Bisexual Men in LGBT-Specific Recovery Housing.

Recovery housing is a promising way to augment the substance use continuum of care, but we know little about the experiences of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community who live in them or about residences specifically for them. Within the LGBTQ community, gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) often experience co-occurring syndemic conditions (e.g.

Delivering LGBT-sensitive substance use treatment to sexual minority women.

Epidemiologic studies have consistently found elevated rates of alcohol and other substance use among sexual minority women (SMW), and despite calls for "LGBT-specific" services and culturally-tailored interventions, few such services exist. This study involved qualitative interviews with directors from substance use treatment programs (N=10) about how they addressed the needs of SMW. Strategies implemented primarily focused on creating a safe and welcoming environment for sexual minority clients.

Consistency between beliefs and behavior regarding use of substances in recovery.

This paper addresses the assumption that pathways to recovery from substance abuse and dependence, and the language used to define one's relationship to substances, translate to actual beliefs and behaviors in terms of substance use. We draw on social representation theory, and use data from a large web-based study (n=9,341) whose goal was to understand how individuals in recovery define what recovery means to them. We often hear people say that they are "in recovery," and present findings now provide empirical evidence of the prevalent meanings of this ubiquitous expression.