Vista Research Group to Conduct Longitudinal Treatment Outcomes Study

Vista Research Group has received a $250,000 grant from the Conquer Addiction Research Institute (CARI), the newly created research arm of the not-for-profit Conquer Addiction, to conduct a longitudinal outcomes study of patients who attend treatment facilities that prescribe medications to treat substance use disorders.

Vista will monitor patients through treatment and contact a random selection of patients who leave treatment at multiple points in the year following their discharge to determine the impact treatment had on their quality of life and drug and alcohol use.

“There appear to be 2 distinct camps in the addiction treatment field: some who feel that totally abstaining from all drugs and alcohol is the only route to recovery and others who feel that the extended use of anti-craving medications such as Suboxone, methadone, or naltrexone is crucial to recovery success,” Joanna Conti, Conquer Addiction founder and chairwoman, said in a news release.  “We suspect the truth lies somewhere in the middle, with specific types of treatment working better for different individuals based on their drug use histories and demographic characteristics.”

The study will include a cohort of 2,000 patients who stop taking their prescribed medication early in treatment and those who remain in treatment long-term. Patients will be asked to report on symptoms of mental health disorders, drug and alcohol use during and after treatment, and the impact of treatment on their quality of life.

“By comparing the long-term outcomes across the entire range of patients—those who remain on medication long-term, those who gradually taper off, and those who quit cold turkey—with the long-term outcomes of patients attending more traditional short-term, therapy-based centers, our intention is to start to determine the treatment modalities more likely to be effective for different types of patients,” Thomas W. Doub, PhD, a Conquer Addiction board member and assistant professor of pediatrics at the Center for Patient & Professional Advocacy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said in the release.

Reference

Conquer Addiction Research Institute (CARI) awards major research grant for longitudinal outcomes research comparing medication-assisted & short-term therapy-based addiction treatment to Vista Research Group. News release. Conquer Addiction Inc. March 14, 2022. Accessed March 21, 2022.