Transitioning Virtual-Only Group Therapy for Substance Use Disorder Patients to a Hybrid Model

Area of Science:

• Addiction Medicine
• Telehealth Research
• Mental Health Services

Background:

• Telehealth offers numerous benefits for healthcare delivery.
• Limited data exists on substance use disorder (SUD) treatment outcomes in hybrid (in-person and virtual) group therapy settings.
• Understanding treatment completion rates in hybrid models is crucial for optimizing SUD care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if treatment completion rates differ between virtual-only and hybrid group therapy for substance use disorder (SUD).
• To evaluate the impact of hybrid group exposure on SUD treatment outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A naturalistic, observational cohort study was conducted across seven intensive outpatient (IOP) programs in rural Minnesota.
• Data was retrospectively collected for 858 participants (18+ years, SUD diagnosis) who initiated and discharged treatment between June 2020 and July 2022.
• Helmert contrasts were used to analyze the impact of hybrid group exposure versus virtual-only delivery on treatment completion.

Main Results:

• Hybrid group exposure was associated with a significantly higher treatment completion rate compared to virtual-only delivery (univariate odds ratio: 1.88, 95% CI: 1.50-2.41, p < 0.001).
• No significant differences in completion rates were observed across the participating IOP sites.
• The study sample was derived from a larger IOP population where 29.8% were female and 64.1% were aged 18-40.

Conclusions:

• This study presents novel outcome data for a hybrid group approach in virtual SUD care.
• Results indicate that incorporating an in-person component into telehealth may benefit SUD treatment completion.
• Further research is warranted to explore the specific dynamics influenced by in-person interaction and its replicability in virtual settings.