Battling the Opioid Crisis: Can Community Partnerships Make a Difference?
"A new study explores how community-based coalitions can improve access to and outcomes from opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment."
The opioid crisis continues to be a major public health challenge, with rising rates of opioid use disorder (OUD) and related deaths. Addressing this crisis requires innovative solutions, and a community-based, collaborative approach may hold the key to improving access to treatment and overall outcomes for diverse populations.
One promising model is the Community Partners in Care (CPIC) approach, originally designed for improving depression services. CPIC emphasizes building coalitions of community members, service providers, and policymakers to address local needs and implement evidence-based practices. Recognizing the potential of this model for tackling OUD, researchers have explored adapting CPIC to the specific challenges of the opioid crisis.
This article will delve into the findings of a community-partnered working group that examined how the CPIC study and coalition approach could be applied to OUD. We'll explore the group's recommendations, the challenges they identified, and the potential impact of this innovative strategy on combating the opioid epidemic.
Adapting the CPIC Approach to Opioid Use Disorder: Key Recommendations
The working group, comprised of academic researchers, healthcare providers, consumers, and policy stakeholders, met over a year to explore adapting CPIC's core components – Resources for Services (RS) and Community Engagement and Planning (CEP) – to address OUD.
- Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT): Implementing CRAFT as a stakeholder-support intervention to boost the use of Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT). CRAFT empowers family members and significant others to positively influence their loved one's engagement in treatment.
- Expert Technical Assistance: Providing expert technical assistance combined with strategies to improve organizational readiness. This helps ensure that service providers have the knowledge, skills, and resources to effectively implement MAT and CRAFT.
- Learning Collaboratives: Using Community Engagement and Planning (CEP) to foster collaboration through learning collaboratives, which can improve support for MAT/CRAFT programs. These collaboratives provide a platform for sharing best practices, problem-solving, and continuous quality improvement.
The Promise and Challenges of a Community-Based Approach
The stakeholders involved in this planning process saw the CPIC design and interventions as both feasible and acceptable for community-wide strategies against the opioid epidemic. It leverages the strengths of community-based organizations, healthcare providers, and policymakers to create a more comprehensive and effective response.
However, the study authors acknowledge that demonstrating a significant impact on mortality rates would require large, multi-site trials. This highlights the need for substantial resources and long-term commitment to fully evaluate the effectiveness of this approach.
Despite the challenges, the adaptation of the CPIC model offers a promising path forward in addressing the opioid crisis. By fostering collaboration, building community capacity, and integrating evidence-based practices, this approach has the potential to significantly improve access to treatment and outcomes for individuals and communities affected by OUD.