Research has been an integral part of the ARTC mission to serve its patient opulation. Our extensive research experience is typical for a free-standing substance abuse treatment agency. Since the 1970s, ARTC has participated in a wide range of behavioral and biomedical research focusing on substance use and its complications, including HIV-related research beginning in the late 1980s. ARTC has received research funding from public agencies, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and private industry, including Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Abbott Labs, Pfizer Inc., Ortho Biotech Products, L.P., and OraSure Technologies, Inc. This has lead to numerous scientific presentations and publications.
Highlights
For over 12 years, ARTC has participated in the Greater New York Node of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (NIDA CTN). The NIDA CTN is a nationwide collaboration dedicated to: 1) conducting effectiveness studies of behavioral and pharmacological interventions across a wide range of community-based treatment settings in diverse clinical populations, and 2) transferring the research results to physicians, providers, and their patients to improve the quality of drug abuse treatment throughout the country. This network was one of the dividends from the 1998 Institute of Medicine Report, “Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice” that highlighted the public health need to translate new medical and behavioral treatments for addiction into use by the broader community. Additional information on the CTN is available at the NIDA CTN website
ARTC has been a proud member of the Clinical Trials Network for over 12 years!
As a result of NIDA CTN affiliation, ARTC has participated in four clinical trials: (1) Buprenorphine/ Naloxone vs. Clonidine Study (NIDA CTN-0002); (2) Women’s Treatment for Trauma and Substance Use Disorders (NIDA CTN-0015); (3) Patient Feedback: A Performance Improvement Study (NIDA CTN-0016); and, (4) Infections and Substance Abuse Study (NIDA CTN-0012). The latter nationwide study was conceived, led, and implemented by ARTC. To date, the Infections and Substance Abuse Study (NIDA CTN-0012) represents the only NIDA CTN study led by a Principal Investigator, study site, and Institutional Review Board not based in an academic medical center. Findings from this study have led to a number of scientific presentations and publications, including one paper that was distributed prior to publication at a meeting of the White House Council on HIV/AIDS in 2007.
ARTC has completed a 3-year NIDA R01 grant, Enhancing Practice Improvement in Community-Based Care for Prevention and Treatment of Drug Abuse or Co-occurring Drug Abuse and Mental Disorders (RFA-DA-06-001) to study the impact of a corporate-wide electronic information system. Entitled, Electronic Information System to Enhance Practice at an Opioid Treatment Program (Grant # R01DA022030), the research focused on the domains of (1) quality, (2) productivity, (3) satisfaction, (4) risk management, and (5) financial performance of the electronic information system. Two papers from this study have been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal and were posted online. One paper describes the logistical roadblocks to implementing the electronic information system and how they were overcome; and the second paper details the research study design and some of the preliminary findings. With healthcare reform nationally and major changes in funding at the state level, the timing and scope of this study have made ARTC as well prepared for change in our field as any substance abuse agency in the country.
ARTC researchers have made conference presentations at a number of national and international scientific meetings, most notably the International AIDS Society (IAS), the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), the American Public Health Association (APHA), the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), and the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD). Along with the publication of journal articles, ARTC has shared its findings with the rest of the scientific community.
In sum, ARTC has considerable experience in the conduct of behavioral and biomedical research related to substance abuse and other co-morbidities and has been recognized as having made substantial contributions to our field.
