Data from the CTN platform study: Major findings.

This presentation, a combination of three presentations given at CTN Steering Committee meetings in 2009 and 2010, begins with an overview of the goals of the University of Georgia CTN platform study. This study aims to better understand organization-level processes of adoption, implementation, and potential discontinuation of evidence-based treatment practices (EBPs); and to study the counseling workforce within CTN programs. Methodology for the study used face-to-face interviews with administrators and clinical directors of CTPs, along with mail/internet based surveys of counselors. The study looked at both publicly funded and privately funded programs, with data collection at baseline, 24 months, and 48 months. The first part of the study examined adoption of buprenorphine in opioid treatment programs, and found that CTN affiliation was significantly associated with buprenorphine adoption (CTN programs were three times more likely to adopt bup than non-CTN programs). The second part looked at buprenorphine adoption over time, finding that adoption at baseline was strongly associated with continued adoption at follow-up. The third part of the study examined adoption of alcohol pharmacotherapies in CTN and non-CTN programs, finding this time that CTN participation was not a significant predictor of tablet naltrexone adoption at baseline, but that CTN programs were three times more likely to adopt naltrexone after both 24 months and 48 months. The latest focus of the platform study was on an examination of barriers to buprenorphine or motivational incentive adoption, which found that cost was a significant factor for many programs.

The presentation concludes with a discussion of the use of the CTN as a platform for studying the counseling workforce, focusing on attitudes towards evidence-based practices, implications of research involvement for employee retention, and the role of clinical supervision in reducing emotional exhaustion and turnover.