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Tag: recovery
05/02/2023

Text Messages Exchanged Between Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder and Their mHealth e-Coaches: Content Analysis Study

Ranjit Y, Davis W, Fentem A, Riordan R, Roscoe R, Cavazos-Rehg P. Text Messages Exchanged Between Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder and Their mHealth e-Coaches: Content Analysis Study. JMIR Hum Factors 2023;10:e37351 DOI: 10.2196/37351

The aim of this study was to understand the text messaging communication between persons undergoing opioid use disorder (OUD) recovery and their e-coaches. The study was part of a larger mHealth intervention study called “uMAT-R”, which is a support mobile app to improve OUD treatment adherence and recovery. The uMAT-R app provides instant in-app messaging with a recovery support e-coach. Participants were recruited from various OUD recovery programs in St. Louis and were eligible if they had a formal OUD diagnosis and were currently receiving treatment. For this content analysis, messages from 70 participants were coded for emotional support, informational support, and material support (services and resources that help solve practical issues). Messages were also coded for treatment and recovery domains and problems related to mobile app usage. On average, the number of messages exchanged between participants and e-coaches was 17 (SD=16.05) and 90% of conversations were initiated by e-coaches. Emotional support was most commonly identified in conversations (196 occurrences), followed by material support (110 occurrences). For OUD treatment content, messages about OUD recovery and opioid use risk factors occurred the most (N=72), followed by motivation to avoid drug use (N=47). Depression was significantly associated with social support related messages (r=0.27, p=0.02). Overall, findings demonstrate that people in OUD recovery seek social support and relapse prevention support when provided online communication with their health care providers. Due to the need for continuous interpersonal support as part of addiction care, instant two-way text messaging could be a cost-effective and sustainable tool to support OUD recovery.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ;
01/23/2023

“I got a bunch of weed to help me through the withdrawals”: Naturalistic cannabis use reported in online opioid and opioid recovery community discussion forums

Meacham MC, Nobles AL, Tompkins DA, Thrul J (2022) “I got a bunch of weed to help me through the withdrawals”: Naturalistic cannabis use reported in online opioid and opioid recovery community discussion forums. PLoS ONE 17(2): e0263583. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263583

This study investigated cannabis-related posts in two online communities on the Reddit platform to compare naturalistic cannabis use by people actively using opioids versus people in recovery from opioid misuse. Researchers extracted all posts mentioning keywords related to cannabis from an opioid use subreddit and opioid recovery subreddit on Reddit from December 2015 to August 2019. Cannabis-related posts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis to identify the most frequently used phrases and then compared between the two subreddits. Cannabis-related posts were twice as prevalent in the recovery subreddit (N=908, 5% of posts) than the active opioid use subreddit (N=4224, 2.6% of posts). The most frequent phrases in the recovery subreddit referred to time without opioid use and using cannabis as treatment. The opioid use subreddit most frequently referred to concurrent use of cannabis and opioids. The primary reason for cannabis use among persons in recovery was to manage opioid withdrawal symptoms and among active opioid users to achieve the “high” in conjunction with opioids. This study of naturalistic cannabis use reported on an online community platform provides insight into the motivation behind cannabis use among people who actively or previously used opioids. Findings have implications for cannabis policy and its potential impact on opioid use in the context of unmet treatment needs for opioid use disorder. Future research is needed to understand the role of cannabis for treating opioid withdrawal symptoms.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ;
10/19/2022

IU Researcher Creates Virtual Reality Experiences to Aid Substance Use Disorder Recovery

Article Excerpt: Indiana University researchers are combining psychological principles with innovative virtual reality technology to create a new immersive therapy for people with substance use disorders. They’ve recently received over $4.9 million from the National Institutes of Health and launched an IU-affiliated startup company to test and further develop the technology. Led by Brandon Oberlin, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the IU School of Medicine, IU researchers have built a virtual environment using “future-self avatars” to help people recover from substance use disorders.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/4u7uvnz4

Article Source: IU Research Impact

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ;
10/16/2022

WSU Study Finds Smart Home Technology Could Help Those Recovering from Opioid Use Disorder

Article Excerpt: Disrupted sleep is a common complaint for people actively trying to quit highly addictive opioids. According to a release from WSU, methadone is effective at reducing cravings and withdrawal, but it is often prescribed once daily and adjusting for the proper dosage can take time. Before a patient and doctor can get the dosage right, treatments can wear off during the night, returning withdrawal symptoms and pain – which increases the risk of resuming drug use and accidental overdose. The study, published in the journal Pain Management Nursing, found home sensors matched other sleep monitoring methods 89% of the time.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/4x79bx6w

Article Source: Fox 28

Posted in: Emerging Technologies, Uncategorized // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ;
06/27/2022

Digital Tool Helps Emergency Department Doctors Treat Opioid Use Disorder

Article Excerpt: Emergency departments (EDs) are an important point of care for people with opioid use disorder. But EDs in the United States have been slow to meet patient needs for opioid use treatments like buprenorphine, past research shows. A new tool developed by Yale researchers aims to close this gap by helping physicians feel more prepared to offer these medications. In a recent trial, the researchers found that the tool — called EMergency department-initiated BuprenorphinE for opioid use Disorder (EMBED) — increased the number of physicians initiating buprenorphine treatment in the ED. Their findings were reported June 27 in the BMJ, a global medical journal.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/2p9ej3sj

Article Source: Yale News

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
09/30/2021

Addiction Therapy at the Touch of a Button

Article Excerpt: There’s seemingly an app for everything these days, including hacking the mental elements of drug addiction. “We can’t be available to our patients 24-7,” said Bruce Goldman, senior director of behavioral health at Zucker Hillside Hospital on Long Island, “the app is.” The hospital began prescribing reSET-O as part of a pandemic pilot program, now the app is a standard care option… “These digital treatments can provide care that is sometimes as good as or better than clinician delivered therapy,” said Dr. Lisa Marsch, a researcher with Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/w94hh6a

Article Source: WWNY TV (Also posted in WCAX, Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine News, and many others)

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
06/25/2021

Comparison of smartphone ownership, social media use, and willingness to use digital interventions between generation z and millennials in the treatment of substance use: Cross-sectional questionnaire study

Curtis B, Ashford R, Magnuson K, Ryan-Pettes S. (2019). Comparison of smartphone ownership, social media use, and willingness to use digital interventions between Generation Z and Millennials in the treatment of substance use: Cross-sectional questionnaire study. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 21(4): e13050. doi: 10.2196/13050

Researchers recruited Millennials (age 18-35 years) and Generation Zs (age 13-17 years) with problematic substance use (n = 164) to participate in a comparison of digital platforms used and receptivity towards using digital platforms to deliver substance use treatment and recovery support. Recruitment occurred through outpatient substance use treatment programs. Participants completed a paper-and-pencil survey on social media use, digital intervention acceptability, substance use, and exposure to drug cues (e.g., text, image, or video content related to illicit or licit substances) and recovery cues on social media. The vast majority of participants had at least one social media account (Millennials: 82%, Generation Zs: 94%), and most used social media daily (Millennials: 68%, Generation Zs: 79%). Generation Zs were more likely to use Instagram (83%) and Snapchat (79%), while Millennials preferred using Facebook (80%). Cannabis was the primary substance used among both groups (Millennials: 69%, Generation Zs: 98%). Most participants had seen drug cues on social media (Millennials: 68%, Generation Zs: 72%), but far fewer had observed recovery cues on social media (Millennials: 31%, Generation Zs: 34%). Participants believed that social media (Millennials: 55%, Generation Zs: 49%), mobile apps (Millennials: 37%, Generation Zs: 45%), texting (Millennials: 29%, Generation Zs: 45%), or a website (Millennials: 40%, Generation Zs: 32%) would be useful conduits for delivering recovery support. Given the prevalence of exposure to drug cues on social media, future research could explore disseminating treatment and recovery support within social media platforms, developing a cross-platform intervention capable of accommodating generational preferences for specific social media platforms.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
06/21/2021

For Employees Struggling with Addiction, Digital Tools Can Be the First Step Toward Treatment

Article Excerpt: Twenty-two million people suffer from active substance use disorders, according to the Edge Treatment Center — and the pandemic has only made matters worse. By June of last year, 13% of Americans reported starting or increasing their substance use as a way to cope with stress or emotions related to COVID-19, according to the CDC… To combat these worsening statistics and offer employees much-needed support, Avidon Health released LivingClear, a multi-week cognitive behavior recovery program targeting substance use disorders. Avidon partners directly with companies and their HR departments so that the service is easily accessible to employees in need.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/7e9zhnab

Article Source: Employee Benefit Advisor

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;