What's New with PARCKA
Welcome to PARCKA's updates on awards, study milestones, and more
COAPS Publication
The recent COAPS publication titled Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of screening and intervention for co-use of opioid medications and alcohol among community pharmacy patients (Broussard G, Hohmeier KC, Field C, Gordon AJ, Carlston K, Cernasev A, Tyszko M, Snyder AM, Cochran G, 2025) underscores key insights into the challenges and opportunities for implementing universal alcohol screening and intervention within community pharmacies to address co-use with opioids.
PHARMTool (CTN-0138)
The CTN-0138 study successfully completed its pilot phase, during which pharmacists from the pilot store evaluated the usability of the Opioid Risk Reduction Clinical Decision Support (ORRCDS) tool using the System Usability Scale (SUS), deeming the tool to be effective and user-friendly.
Congrats to the PHARMTool team on this achievement! Learn more about the study, here.
HIGH DOSE BUPRENORPHINE EVALUATION
We have begun the evaluation on high dose buprenorphine prescribing within the Veterans Affairs (VA) called the BOOST Evaluation (Buprenorphine Dosing for OUD Outcomes and Studying Treatment Episodes). This is part of an inter-agency agreement between the VA and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over a three-year period beginning October 1 of this year. A total of 10 projects are funded across multiple sites bringing in top addiction researchers from around the country. Our site here at Salt Lake City is leading the coordination for all projects as well as the lead site for three of the projects. These include a policy literature review of buprenorphine prescribing, characterizing dose patterns of buprenorphine, and average buprenorphine daily dosing within episodes of care.
For more information on this evaluation, please visit the BOOST evaluations page.
HOPE 2.0 at AMERSA
The study titled Pharmacist Involvement in Motivational Interviewing Intervention for Patients with Prescription Opioid Misuse Behaviors (Kinsey K, Broussard G, Wei Y, Field C, Cox N, White A, Cochran G, 2024) was presented at AMERSA in Chicago, IL. It highlighted findings from the HOPE 2.0 trial, demonstrating how trained pharmacists used motivational interviewing (MI) effectively within medication therapy management (MTM) sessions to address opioid misuse. The pharmacists achieved high competency and proficiency, showing the potential of MI techniques to enhance rural health interventions.
Learn more at the HOPES study page.
COAPS at ASHR
Presented at the ASHR conference in Denver, CO, the Co-Use of Opioid Medications and Alcohol Prevention Study (COAPS) outlines a new strategy for community pharmacies to address the risks of opioid and alcohol co-use through routine screening and intervention. Using Implementation Mapping, the approach identifies essential roles and strategies, including targeted training and workflow redesign, to support safe pharmacy practices. Future research will evaluate its effectiveness for widespread adoption.
Read the abstract to learn more.
Bridging the Gap
Stephanie Castro, MPH, recently completed the "Bridging the Gap" training program through the Cross Cultural Health Care Program (CCHCP). This comprehensive course equipped her with essential skills in medical interpretation, covering areas such as ethics, terminology, and cultural sensitivity, essential for her role in bridging language and cultural divides in healthcare.
Congrats, Stephanie!
RAIN
The recent RAIN publication titled A novel rural hospital/clinic-system practice-based research network: The Rural Addiction Implementation Network (RAIN) initiative and its goals, implementation, and early results (Hafen K, Wallace H, Fritz K, Fordham C, Haskell T, Kelley AT, Jones AL, Cochran G, Gordon AJ, 2024) underscores significant advances in rural health. It focuses on comprehensive prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies to address healthcare disparities in rural communities.
For more details, visit the RAIN page.
Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT)
Ashley White, MA, CMHC, has extensive training in motivational interviewing (MI) from MINT trainers and is now advancing her skills in training others by attending an upcoming conference in New Zealand. This development will strengthen the study interventionist team by enabling her to offer personalized support in MI techniques. Ashley also aims to enhance the broader University of Utah healthcare team’s ability to work collaboratively with patients through MI-based approaches.
For more details, visit the MINT page.
COAPS Patient Follow-up
The Co-Use of Opioid Medications and Alcohol Prevention Study (COAPS) study achieved an impressive 96% patient follow-up assessment rate, highlighting strong participant engagement and reliability in its outcomes. The study focuses on how buprenorphine/naloxone treatment can alleviate chronic pain and reduce opioid use in patients with opioid use disorder, providing valuable insights into managing both conditions.
For more details, visit the COAPS study page.
RDD Recruitment Goal
Congrats to our RDD team for completing the retention arm recruitment!
PROMPT
The paper titled Prevention of Postpartum Methamphetamine Use with Micronized Progesterone Trial (PROMPT): A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol by Smid, M. C., Seliski, N., Charles, J. E., Castro, S., Humiston, G. E., Cash, E., ... & Cochran, G. T. (2024), published in Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications (article number 101359), outlines the protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial aimed at preventing postpartum methamphetamine use through the use of micronized progesterone.
BINDeR-Tx
The Implementation of a Rural Emergency Department-Initiated Buprenorphine Program in the Mountain West: A Study Protocol (Smith J.; Johnson A.; Martinez R.; et al.) represents an important initiative to address opioid use disorder (OUD) in underserved areas of the Mountain West. By implementing a rural emergency department-initiated buprenorphine program, this protocol seeks to improve access to care and provide timely interventions for individuals struggling with OUD, particularly in rural communities where resources are limited.
Learn more at the BINDeR-Tx page.
PT-IN-MIND
The study protocol titled PT-IN-MIND: Study Protocol for a Multisite Randomized Feasibility Trial (Magel JS, Beneciuk JM, Siantz E, et al.) explores the feasibility of integrating mindfulness with physical therapy for patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain who are undergoing long-term opioid treatment. The goal is to evaluate how combining these approaches works in outpatient physical therapy settings.
Learn more about PT-IN-MIND.
College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) and Research Society on Alcohol (RSA)
Grace Broussard, MPH, presented a poster at College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) 86th Annual Scientific Meeting in Montreal, Canada and at the Research Society on Alcohol (RSA) Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota titled “Barriers and Facilitators to the Implementation of an Opioid and Alcohol Co-use Medication Management Intervention.” The poster reported on qualitative interviews with 60+ pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and stakeholders to explore pharmacy staff perceptions towards the implementation of a pharmacy-based screening/intervention for the co-use of opioids and alcohol.
College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD)
Katie Kinsey, LCSW, gave an oral presentation at the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) 86th Annual Scientific Meeting as part of an oral session titled Soda Fountain: Pharmacy in Harm Reduction on June 17th, 2024, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Titled Pharmacist Involvement in Motivational Interviewing Intervention for Patients with Prescription Opioid Misuse Behaviors, the presentation will cover an exploratory analysis on the intensive Motivational Interviewing (MI) training taken by study pharmacists as part of the Healthy Opioid Prescription Engagement Study; a behavioral health randomized clinical trial utilizing high fidelity MI in Medication Therapy Management services to target opioid medication misuse.
College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD)
Carter Reeves, the study coordinator for SUBLIME (Study of Utahn's Beliefs and Life Experiences with Integrative Medicine), presented at CPDD's 86th Annual Scientific Meeting June, 2024. CPDD provides a forum for scientists of diverse backgrounds to advance the understanding of addictive disorders through new scientific knowledge. He presented a poster titled, "Why do Medical Cannabis Patients use Illicit Medicinal Cannabis in the State of Utah" focused on the preliminary findings from the SUBLIME study. The research presented will inform attendees of the prevalence of illicit medicinal cannabis use in the state and the motivations and barriers influencing this behavior.