Stagewise Implementation-To-Target- Medications for Addiction Treatment (SITT-MAT) - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT To combat the US opioid epidemic, massive efforts have been focused on expanding access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). While there are indications of improved reach and adoption, an ironic gap persists—only about one-third of specialty addiction treatment organizations offer MOUD. This proposal, Stagewise Implementation-To-Target – Medications for Addiction Treatment (SITT-MAT), not only advances the science of implementation, but advances our empirical understanding of how to best respond to a substance-related epidemic. This is a revised application in response to PAR-19-274: Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health” and aligned with the National Institute on Drug Abuse Strategic Plan “ensuring the effective translation and implementation of scientific research findings to improve the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders.” Within an adaptive implementation strategy trial design, using an innovative stagewise implementation-to-target approach, 72 community addiction treatment programs will participate. The stagewise implementation-to-target, stepped “care” type approach, deploys increasingly intensive strategies only if needed. The sequence of implementation strategies are: 1) Enhanced Monitoring and Feedback; 2) “NIATx/MAT Academy,” a 2-day workshop on MOUD and NIATx (Network for Improvement of Addiction Treatment)—an evidence-based process improvement strategy; 3) Randomization to either NIATx Internal Facilitation or NIATx External Facilitation; and, 4) If outcome targets are not achieved in the NIATx Internal Facilitation arm, assignment to NIATx External Facilitation. We evaluate the relative impact of 5 possible paths of implementation strategies on RE-AIM target outcomes: reach, effectiveness, adoption, and implementation quality. Maintenance of outcomes is evaluated for sustainment. Measures of multi-level contextual determinants are rigorous and systematic. In opening the “black box” of implementation strategies, we detail procedures, fidelity, participation and costs using standardized measures. The collective expertise of the research team, the established partnership with a state system of care and addiction treatment organizations, forecasts successful project execution. As we submit this application, the US is still coping with the COVID19 pandemic. The global health situation may rebound to relative normalcy in the months from December 2020. Meanwhile, the CDC, SAMHSA, CMS, and the State of Washington Health Care Authority have all made accommodations to continue the initiation and management of MOUD for patients receiving addiction treatment services. Therefore, even if the current quarantine restrictions persist, we do not anticipate major modifications to the study protocol, except in-person implementation support activities would be transitioned to videoconference formats. During this pandemic, it is even more critical for patients with opioid use disorders to access pharmacological interventions that require minimal physical contact with providers. This study has the potential to shift the paradigm in public health and implementation research.
