Implementing research in community treatment programs: Findings from a CTN trial.

This poster illustrates the evolution of two community treatment programs (CTPs) in the Pacific Node of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN), and describes organizational experiences in their participation in an ongoing trial: Starting Treatment with Agonist Replacement Therapies (START; CTN-0027), designed to evaluate hepatic safety in opiate-dependent individuals receiving Suboxone (buprenorphine/naloxone) or methadone pharmacotherapy for 24 weeks. The overarching goal of the CTN is to bridge the gap between research and practice, improving the “quality of drug abuse treatment throughout the country using science as the vehicle.” The process requires two-way communication and a willingness to adapt and learn, which was well exemplified in the four years of participation by these two CTPs (the Matrix Institute on Addictions and Bay Area Addiction, Research and Treatment, Inc.). The experiences of BAART and Matrix illustrate that conducting pragmatic clinical trials research in community treatment settings is not only possible but necessary to assist adoption of research results among physicians, clinicians, providers, and patients.

Related protocols: CTN-0027