Clinical Trials Network Research

Investigación Y Prática En Colaboración: La Red De Ensayos Clinicos Del NIDA. [Research and Practice Together: The NIDA Clinical Trials Network]

This article, published from the SW Node, describes, in Spanish and English, the structure, functions, and unique contributions of the CTN, as well as its past, current, and planned protocols. Miller, W.R., Bogenschutz, M., and Villarreal, M.I. Investigación Y Prática En Colaboración: La Red De Ensayos Clinicos Del NIDA. [Research and Practice Together: The NIDA Clinical Trials Network] Adicciones, 18(1), pp.11-22, 2006.

Characteristics of Substance Abuse Treatment Programs Providing Services for HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C Virus Infection, and Sexually Transmitted Infections: The National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network

Illicit drug users sustain the epidemics of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), hepatitis C (HCV), and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Substance abuse treatment programs present a major intervention point in stemming these epidemics. As a part of the "Infections and Substance Abuse" study, established by the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network, sponsored by National Institute on Drug Abuse, three surveys were developed; for treatment program administrators, for clinicians, and for state and District of Columbia health and substance abuse department administrators, capturing service availability, government mandates, funding, and other key elements related to the three infection groups. Treatment programs varied in corporate structure, source of revenue, patient census, and medical and non-medical staffing; medical services, counseling services, and staff education targeted HIV/AIDS more often than HCV or STIs. The results from this study have the potential to generate hypotheses for further health services research to inform public policy. Brown, L.S., Jr, Kritz, S.A., Goldsmith, R.J., Bini, E.J., Rotrosen, J., Baker, S., Robinson, J., McAuliffe, P. Characteristics of Substance Abuse Treatment Programs Providing Services for HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C Virus Infection, and Sexually Transmitted Infections: The National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network. J Subst Abuse Treat, 30(4), pp. 315-321, June 2006.

Reasons Why Successful Clinical Trials Are Not Adopted by the Sites in Which They are Conducted

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Clinical Trials Network (CTN) is intended to test promising drug abuse treatment models in multi-site clinical trial. Staff members from 8 CTN clinics (19 men and 23 women) representing various roles in their organization were interviewed regarding how the technology of multi-site clinical trials might be modified to better support adoption of tested interventions considering that only 1 of the 8 clinics actually adopted the tested intervention after the trial ended. Interview content analysis revealed four conceptual themes associated with adoption: a) researchers giving the impression of being concerned about the clinic and not just in gathering data, b) successful integration of the trial protocol with existing clinic practices, c) timely post-trial feedback on success, and d) planning within the clinic to adopt trial procedures before or during the trial. Guydish, J., Manser, S. T., Jessup, M., Tajima, B., Sears, C., and Montini, T. Multi-Level Assessment Protocol (MAP) for Adoption in Multisite Clinical Trials. Journal of Drug Issues, 35(3), pp. 529-646, 2005.