To address the opioid epidemic, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the HEAL Initiative to support research aimed at helping people with opioid addiction, and exploring safer treatment options for chronic pain.
The Pacific NW Node, under the leadership of Drs. Dennis Donovan and Mary Hatch-Maillette, has nine projects ongoing or in development under the HEAL Initiative, with funding of about $4.5 million.
Read more about PNW Node and other UW research in the HEAL Initiative.
The Center for the Clinical Trials Network is pleased to announce plans for a Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment Supplement reviewing the first two decades of the CTN with a focus on the past 10 years.
Dennis McCarty (Western States Node) and Dennis Donovan (Pacific Northwest Node) have volunteered to serve as guest editors and will ask CTN investigators to serve as reviewers for the papers in the supplement.
The issue will reflect on the development of the CTN with commentary, and will include integrative summaries of the work the CTN has supported to close the gap between practice and research for the treatment of drug use disorders. A point of emphasis will be the extension of CTN from specialty addiction treatment services to general medical settings and healthcare systems. An additional focus will be research embedded in clinical care which utilizes pragmatic designs, leverages existing clinical staff, and evaluates strategies or approaches for advancing evidence-based care that can be sustainably implemented and disseminated in these settings.
To participate in the issue, email a one-page concept of potential papers to Dennis McCarty (mccartyd@ohsu.edu) and Dennis Donovan (ddonovan@uw.edu) with a copy to Udi Ghitza (ghitzau@nida.nih.gov) and Landhing Moran (landhing.moran@nih.gov) in the Center for the Clinical Trials Network for review and approval to proceed before drafting a full manuscript. The due date for paper concepts is April 29.
CTN policy requires papers to be reviewed in the CTN publication committee before submission to JSAT. All manuscripts submitted to JSAT will undergo peer review.
The 2019 Northwest Regional Conference: Embracing the Future is a three-day conference in Portland, Oregon from Thursday, June 13 – Saturday, June 15, 2019. The conference will feature three intensive days of training sessions with celebrated national trainers.
Conference attendees will be able to earn up to 24 CEs for the full conference.
The Pacific Northwest Node is happy to announce that Dr. Tanja Laschober has joined our team as National Project Director for CTN-0082, Implementation Survey of PrEP and Opioid Use Related Services In STI Clinics and MSM-Centered Community Based Organizations (CBOs), the PrEP Survey Study. Dr. Laschober will work with her counterpart at the Greater New York Node and Drs. Tross and Hatch-Maillette. She comes from the University of South Florida in Tampa to join the PNW Node at the University of Washington, just in time for Seattle’s rainy season!
Welcome, Tanja!
After twenty-five years, Dr. Dennis Donovan is stepping down as Director of the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute at the University of Washington. He will continue his work in the CTN as the Co-PI (with Dr. Mary Hatch-Maillette) of the Pacific Northwest Node, member of the CTN Publications Committee, as well as selected other activities within the CTN, ADAI, and the UW, under his new status as Professor Emeritus.
Dennis M. Donovan has been the director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute since 1993 and a UW faculty member since 1981; he has been a Professor in Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Adjunct Professor in the UW Departments of Psychology, Health Services, and Global Health. He also directed the Substance Abuse and HIV/STI Scientific Working Group within the UW’s Center for AIDS Research. Dr. Donovan has been a Principal Investigator of numerous federally funded grants, including NIAAA’s Project MATCH, the NIAAA COMBINE Study, and NIDA’s National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN). He has published more than 300 articles, chapters, and books in the area of alcoholism and addictive behaviors.
Before coming to ADAI, Dr. Donovan was affiliated with the Addictions Treatment Center at the Seattle Division of the Department of Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System for over 20 years, involved in clinical, administrative, training, and research activities. At the VA he directed the Inpatient Treatment Program and Assistant Director of the Addictions Treatment Center. Prior to moving full time to the University of Washington and ADAI, he served as the Associate Director and then Acting Director of the first Center of Excellence in Substance Abuse Treatment and Education (CESATE) within the Department of Veterans Affairs nationally. Among his many contributions within the VA system was the development of the first interdisciplinary fellowship in substance abuse treatment, including postdoctoral clinical psychologists, and post-masters nursing, social work, and occupational therapist trainees. In 2013, he was invited to serve on the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Committee for an Evaluation of the Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services.
The University of Washington will launch a national search for a new director of ADAI soon; until then, Dr. Caleb Banta-Green, Principal Research Scientist at ADAI, will serve as interim director.
Dennis (aka “Dr. Pun-ovan”)’s retirement will be noted at a party on August 30 with many Seattle colleagues and friends on hand to wish him well. Thank you, Dennis, for your decades of good work and good cheer at ADAI and for the CTN! Best wishes and happy kayaking!
When looking at profiles of men and women with opioid use disorder (OUD), a number of gender differences become evident. Women report more issues with drug, medical, psychological, family/social, and employment problems, while men report more problems with legal and alcohol-related issues.
Additionally, while there was a 265% increase in prescription opioid overdoses for men between 1999 and 2010, women experienced a 400% increase. Building knowledge of gender differences in demographic and clinical characteristics could help improve outcomes for both men and women in treatment.
This analysis, co-authored by PN Node investigator Mary Hatch-Maillette, PhD (Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute, UW), examined baseline gender differences in individuals with OUD receiving inpatient services, as part of NIDA Clinical Trials Network protocol CTN-0051, a randomized, controlled trial comparing extended-release naltrexone to buprenorphine. Participants (N=570) provided demographic, substance use, and psychiatric history information.
Results found that the women in the study, compared to the men, were:
Women also reported shorter duration, but similar age of onset, of opioid use.
Conclusions: Findings underscore economic, psychiatric, and infection vulnerability among women with OUD, which may complicate treatment initiation, retention, and recovery. Gender-specific interventions focused on these areas of disparity for women with OUD should be considered, including integration of OUD care with treatment for co-occurring psychiatric disorders and trauma, couples-based risk reduction interventions which address relational dynamics, and interventions that address the unique needs of sexual minority women.
Citation: Campbell ANC, et al. Brief Report: Gender differences in demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with opioid use disorder entering a comparative effectiveness medication trial. American Journal on Addictions 2018 (in press).
Dr. Mary Hatch-Maillette will be the Co-lead Investigator of the new protocol CTN-0082, Implementation Survey of PrEP and Opioid Use Related Services In STI Clinics and MSM-Centered Community Based Organizations (CBOs), along with Dr. Susan Tross of the Greater New York Node.
While HIV incidence in the broader population in the US decreased by 18%, between 2008 and 2014, among men who have sex with men (MSM), it increased by 6%. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is at the cutting edge of HIV prevention worldwide, yet widespread use and promotion of PrEP has not been widely adopted. Also, despite of current evidence on efficacy of Naloxone and MAT interventions to prevent opioid overdose and treat opioid use disorders (OUD), appropriate models to implement in MSM-Centered CBOs are yet to be identified. Information (e.g. access, readiness, capacity, barriers, resource gaps, etc.) is needed to assist in the effort to increase awareness and use of PrEP and adoption of OUD interventions.
The PrEP Survey study aims to identify health department STI clinics and and/or HIV- centered community-based organizations delivering services to assess: 1) program directors’ and providers’ knowledge/awareness of, interest in, perceived challenges / facilitators to and strategies for, offering PrEP and OUD interventions 2) and MSM’s knowledge / awareness of, interest in, perceived challenges/facilitators to and recommended strategies for, being offered PrEP and OUD interventions.
Clinical sites where the study will be implemented have not yet been announced.
On May 18, 2018, the University of Washington’s Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute hosted its 3rd Symposium on Marijuana Research in Washington, this year in collaboration with colleagues from Washington State University.
The keynote speaker, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson (pictured below), spoke about issues of federal vs. state marijuana laws, and about Washington’s law protecting local jurisdictions’ right to exclude marijuana retail stores even if the product is legal in the state.
Scientists from the UW and WSU presented panels in three focus areas:
The event drew approximately 200 researchers, state and local officials, and community partners.
Video, slides, and speaker information are available at: http://adai.uw.edu/mjsymposium/.
ADAI received funds from Washington’s Marijuana Dedicated Fund to support marijuana research and information dissemination, described in a report covering activities from July 2015-June 2017.
The Pacific Northwest Node is delighted to announce that in March 2018, Dr. Mary Hatch-Maillette was named Co-Director of the Pacific Northwest Node. Having joined the University of Washington’s Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute in 2003 to work on CTN-0018, Safer Sex for Men, she has since held a variety of local and national roles in seven additional CTN protocols and two platform studies, including the BEing Safe in Treatment (BEST) study. In addition, she maintains a private psychotherapy practice in Seattle. Her primary research interests are in substance use treatment and HIV risk behavior.
Now one of the longest-serving members of the Pacific Northwest Node and a CTN “veteran,” Mary has co-authored 45 papers, posters, and presentations for the CTN. She is excited to join the CTN leadership and continue the PNW Node’s tradition of blending science and practice in the treatment of substance use disorders.
The goal of treatment for opioid addiction or opioid use disorder (OUD) is remission of the disorder leading to lasting recovery. Recovery is a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential.
SAMHSA’s new Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP), “Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (TIP 63),” helps behavioral healthcare professionals broaden their understanding of the three FDA-approved medications—methadone, naltrexone, and buprenorphine—used to help treat Americans with opioid use disorder, as well as the other strategies and services needed to support recovery for people with OUD.
Download the new TIP or order print copies online: http://bit.ly/2ExvUkz
TIP 63 had significant input from researchers, clinicians, and information specialists affiliated with the Pacific NW Node. Ron Jackson, MSW, LISW and Andrew Saxon, MD served on the Expert Panel to help develop the TIP via a consensus-driven, collaborative process that blends evidence-based, best, and promising practices with the panel’s expertise and combined wealth of experience.
In addition, field reviewers for this TIP included Meg Brunner, MLIS from the CTN Dissemination Library and ADAI, Alison Newman, MPH (ADAI) and Mary Catlin, RN, MPH, CIC, (DOH and ADAI). The field review allows people who work in addiction, mental health, and adjacent fields to gauge the TIP’s relevance, utility, accuracy, and accessibility.
The goal of treatment for opioid addiction or opioid use disorder (OUD) is remission of the disorder leading to lasting recovery. Recovery is a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential.
SAMHSA’s new Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP), “Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (TIP 63),” helps behavioral healthcare professionals broaden their understanding of the three FDA-approved medications—methadone, naltrexone, and buprenorphine—used to help treat Americans with opioid use disorder, as well as the other strategies and services needed to support recovery for people with OUD.
Download the new TIP or order print copies online: http://bit.ly/2ExvUkz
CTN Pacific Northwest Node blog 