Despite ample research on the efficacy of pharmacotherapy in the treatment of alcohol abuse and dependence, adjunctive medications are used infrequently in clinical settings. Unfortunately, evidence-based strategies to increase adoption of pharmacotherapies by alcoholism treatment practitioners are lacking. The primary objective of this exploratory research is to develop a quality improvement intervention strategy for pharmacotherapy transfer (using naltrexone as the prototype) and to pilot test and refine this intervention in community-based treatment centers. A unique feature of the study is that a team of university researchers, alcoholism counselors and alcoholism program administrators will collaborate in the development and testing of the intervention. Initially, a theoretically sound, multi-component intervention will be developed based on known attitudinal and organizational barriers to the use of pharmacotherapy in clinical practice. Interventional components will include an educational workshop, on-site academic detailing visits, audiovisual and written training materials, and ongoing email and telephone consultation. The intervention will be pilot testing at three experimental and three control alcoholism treatment centers over a six-month time period. Pre-post data on knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding naltrexone will be analyzed. After a thorough evaluation of pilot test results, the intervention will be refined and manualized in preparation for a more extensive controlled outcome study in a future investigation. The long-range significance of this study is that it will provide the first evidence-based translational model to facilitate adoption and implementation of current and future pharmacological agents in the treatment of alcohol abuse and dependence.
| Thomas, Suzanne E; Miller, Peter M; Randall, Patrick K et al. (2008) Improving acceptance of naltrexone in community addiction treatment centers: a pilot study. J Subst Abuse Treat 35:260-8 |
| Thomas, Suzanne E; Miller, Peter M (2007) Knowledge and attitudes about pharmacotherapy for alcoholism: a survey of counselors and administrators in community-based addiction treatment centres. Alcohol Alcohol 42:113-8 |
