CONNECT
CONNECT
Summary
Substance use disorders (SUD), including opioid use disorder, alcohol use disorder and stimulant use disorders, affect millions of Americans, frequently leading to death and serious illness. It is estimated that fewer than 20 percent of individuals with SUD are able to access treatment. It is important to make SUD treatment available wherever people get medical care to ensure that more people are able to conveniently and readily access care.
SUDs are common among hospitalized patients, making hospitals especially important places to offer SUD treatment. While many hospitals have started programs aimed at offering SUD treatment to hospitalized patients, the best way to help patients connect to long term medical and SUD care once they leave is unknown. Transitions of care from the hospital to community medical and SUD follow-up is complex, and patients with SUD often have little or no help connecting to treatment after they leave the hospital. There is a need to design and compare models aimed at improving post-hospitalization care transitions for people with SUD. Engaging partners from all parts of the care transition process, including patients, primary care providers, hospital-based providers, nurses, pharmacists and community addiction/mental health specialists, is important to make sure that proposed solutions take into account the priorities and leverage the wisdom of each group.
Objectives
Aim 1. Form a Governance Structure for CONNECT.
Aim 2. Create the CONNECT Outcomes Research Collaborative (ORC) to Engage Diverse SUD Care Transition Partners in Developing a PCOR and CER Agenda.
Aim 3. Develop a Patient-Centered Core Outcomes Set for Future PCOR and CER on Post-
Hospitalization SUD Care Models.
Collaborators
This work will take place at the University of Utah with the full support of their institutional leadership. The project team plans to partner with several community and health system groups both to recruit CONNECT’s participants and to facilitate the project. These include:
- The Utah Community Collaboration and Engagement Team, who will facilitate the focus groups and assist with recruitment for the ORC.
- Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness, a community non-profit led by people with lived SUD experience who will help with recruitment and leadership.
- Rural partners including Utah Navajo Health System (Montezuma Creek, Utah); Wind River Cares (Lander, Wyoming); Utah Rural Addiction Implementation Network; and University of Utah’s rural hospital partner (Mountain West Medical Center).
- University of Utah Health System Leadership.
- Utah Quality Advancement Lab, a multidisciplinary research group focused on promoting high-quality patient care across diverse contexts.
- Supporting Patients though Access, Reach and Continuity of Care Clinic.
