Designing and implementing an intervention for returning citizens living with substance use disorder: discovering the benefits of peer recovery coach involvement in pilot clinical trial decision-making

Abstract

Peer-facilitated services in behavioral health care remain underutilized within criminal justice-involved community organizations, and there is little guidance for how to best involve peer workers in behavioral health-focused research activities. This paper described lessons learned regarding implementation of peer recovery coaches (PRCs) as part of development and pilot research on Substance Use Programming for Person-Oriented Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT), a peer-facilitated substance use disorder (SUD) intervention for returning citizens. Qualitative data were collected from learning meetings with key stakeholders and group interviews with SUPPORT clinical trial participants and PRCs. Transcripts were analyzed to identify key decisions made impacting the development, implementation, and/or revision of the SUPPORT intervention and pilot clinical trial protocols. Analysis demonstrated that PRC involvement drove many of the decisions made regarding modifications to the original intervention and trial protocols, while benefiting client-level interactions and by influencing the non-profit agency and its connection to stakeholders. Moreover, PRCs improved the research design by refining the incentive structure and data collection plans. PRC involvement also contributed to the development of more recovery-oriented resources and catering support services to the unique needs of justice-involved individuals. Discussed were the implications for the role of PRCs in justice-involved behavioral health research and treatment.

Keywords:

• peer recovery coach
• peer services
• criminal justice
• reentry
• substance use disorder

Acknowledgements

This project is being conducted in collaboration with the Central Indiana Recovery Services Coalition (CIRSC), which includes the member organizations Public Advocates in Community Re-Entry and Drug Free Marion County. This project would not be possible without the support of Indiana’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction, which provided initial funding for CIRSC’s work. The research team would also like to thank Dr. Dennis McCarty of Oregon Health Sciences University for the input he provided during the development of this project. Finally, the research team would like to thank LH who was a SUPPORT PRC and contributed substantially to the development team meetings until leaving PACE in September 2019.

Disclosure statement

Rihanna Edwards and Gina Fears are respectively Executive Director and Peer Recovery Coach of Public Advocates in Community reentry where the study is being carried out. All other authors have no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse [R34DA041640]. The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.