A randomized controlled trial of telephone continuing care

Area of Science:

• Addiction Medicine
• Behavioral Health
• Public Health

Background:

• Substance use disorder treatment often involves residential care followed by continuing care.
• Maintaining engagement in continuing care is crucial for sustained recovery.
• Traditional continuing care models may have limitations in accessibility and engagement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of telephone continuing care (TCC) versus usual continuing care (UCC) for adults post-residential treatment.
• To assess the impact of TCC on substance use and related problems.
• To evaluate patient satisfaction with TCC.

Main Methods:

• Randomized controlled trial comparing TCC and UCC.
• TCC involved a tapered protocol initiated by paraprofessional staff and volunteers.
• Data collected on substance use, related problems, and satisfaction at 3 and 6 months post-discharge.

Main Results:

• TCC participants reported high satisfaction and were over twice as likely to enter continuing care.
• At 3 months, TCC patients showed significantly fewer past-month substance problems than UCC patients.
• Lower severity TCC participants had more abstinent days and fewer substance problems at 3 months.
• Differences in substance use outcomes were not sustained at 6-month follow-up.

Conclusions:

• Telephone continuing care demonstrates promise for improving engagement and early outcomes in substance use disorder recovery.
• High patient satisfaction suggests TCC is a viable and acceptable intervention.
• Further research with larger samples and longer follow-up is warranted to confirm long-term efficacy.