Nearly 22 million Americans age 12 and older (8.1%) need treatment for a substance use disorder. While only 10%-11% of individuals requiring treatment receive it, an estimated two-thirds see a primary care or urgent care provider every 6 months. Primary care providers are in a unique position to identify and intervene on substance use disorders.
Pro-Change Behavior Systems is pleased to announce that Dr. Deborah Levesque, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer, was just awarded a $1.77 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to continue her prior NIDA-funded work.
The grant will enable Pro-Change to complete development of and test a mobile-delivered intervention designed to reduce barriers to screening, brief intervention, and referral for treatment (SBIRT) in primary care by delivering universal screening and feedback on substance use risk to patients at home or in the practice.
Two integrated interfaces are being developed. For patients at risk, the program delivers a brief intervention based on the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (TTM) to facilitate progress through the stages of change for quitting their most problematic drug, and for seeking treatment, if indicated. The solution also includes stage-matched text messages and online activities addressing key topics (e.g., managing cravings). For providers, the intervention includes a Clinical Dashboard that summarizes the patient’s substance use risk scores and stage of change data, and provides stage-matched scripts and action steps to guide a brief in-person intervention session. The program will be integrated in the electronic health record at the implementation sites and monitor patient follow-through.
The research will be conducted in two phases. In Phase I, the mobile tools will be integrated into the clinical practice and electronic health record of a federally qualified health center (FQHC). Phase II will involve a cluster-randomized trial among 1300 patients recruited by 20 FQHCs sites randomly assigned to the intervention or usual care.
The work is now underway.
This research is funded by grant #R44DA044840 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.