PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Safe and stable housing is widely recognized as critical to recovery from alcohol and drug use disorders
generally, but it may be even more critical to recovery from opioid use disorders (OUD). Addiction to opioids is
associated with changes in the structure and function of the brain. These changes may take months or years to
resolve, all the while leaving individuals vulnerable to relapse, which is all too often deadly. It may also lead to
unemployment, criminal justice involvement, and social isolation, which present additional impediments to
recovery. Recovery housing can offer invaluable support in the early phases of recovery by providing structure
and minimizing exposure to conditioned cues and other triggers for relapse. It can also set the stage for long-
term gains by integrating residents into new peer communities that are supportive of recovery and can help as
they face challenges in daily life. Unfortunately, research on the outcomes of residents in recovery from OUD,
particularly those being treated with medications is limited. Further, there is literature that suggests that
individuals being treated with medications for OUD (MOUD) may experience barriers to recovery housing due to
negative attitudes towards MOUD and lack of recovery housing that is equipped to support persons on
medication. This application seeks to enhance infrastructure to conduct effectiveness research on recovery
housing for persons treated with MOUD. Specifically, it aims to: (1) Develop a network of diverse stakeholders
dedicated to expanding access to recovery housing for persons prescribed MOUD and conducting research on
it; (2) Increase capacity of recovery housing that is equipped to support residents who are prescribed MOUD
and to participate in effectiveness research as well as researchers who are trained to conduct it; (3) Provide
resources and opportunities to junior investigators and those who may be new to recovery housing research to
collaborate with recovery housing researchers to expand the evidence base on recovery housing for persons
treated with MOUD. To achieve these aims, the proposed team will establish an Advisory Board comprised of
leading researchers and members of national treatment, recovery, and recovery housing organizations to
establish a large multi-stakeholder network of providers and researchers. The team will also host a webinar
series with intensive year-long tracks for recovery housing providers and researchers new to the field and foster
opportunities for these researchers to network with providers and other researchers at conferences. Finally,
members of the team will mentor pilot studies with junior and new recovery housing researchers to develop new
tools and establish the feasibility of innovative research methods and research in novel settings to fill key gaps
in the literature. Findings from these pilot studies will be disseminated to the larger multi-stakeholder network to
improve practice and launch wider scale effectiveness research.