Justifying the need for a recovery related surveillance system: Exploratory focused interviews

Area of Science:

• Addiction Medicine
• Public Health Surveillance
• Health Services Research

Background:

• No systematic surveillance system currently exists for recovery houses (RH).
• Recovery houses offer vital recovery support services (RSS) for substance use disorder (SUD).
• Evidence suggests RH effectiveness and increasing availability necessitate better data collection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore current data collection practices in RH at resident and house levels.
• To identify gaps in systematic data collection and reporting within the RH field.
• To assess the potential benefits of a dedicated RH surveillance system for improving care and outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative focus interviews were conducted with RH representatives.
• 16 representatives from 13 RHs participated in the interviews.
• Data collection practices regarding resident demographics, substance use, treatment history, and RSS engagement were examined.

Main Results:

• Most RHs collect resident data at entry (92%) and departure (85%), including demographics and history.
• 85% of RHs collect recovery support data, but only 31% collect post-stay data.
• Significant lack of standardized systematic collection, analysis, and reporting of recovery-related data was identified.

Conclusions:

• A standardized, systematic surveillance system for RH is needed.
• Such a system can improve data on RSS engagement and retention.
• Implementing a surveillance system has the potential to inform and enhance resident care for long-term SUD recovery.