Aug 9, 2016
From the Director's Desk: The NAATP Outcomes Study and the Value of Authentic Research
We are pleased to report that the National Association's addiction treatment Outcomes Pilot Program (The OPP) received IRB approval this week. This is an important accomplishment for the project and for the treatment field. We have not done enough to authenticate our treatment outcomes and our value in general. Yes, we are fond of marketing anecdotes and surveys, but to the extent that we have measured our work, it has not typically been done through rigorous academic research. That is why the OPP and the IRB imprimatur is so important.
An IRB (Institutional Review Board) is a committee used in research in the U.S. that has been formally designated to approve, monitor, and review biomedical and behavioral human subjects research. The purpose of the IRB is to assure that appropriate steps are taken to protect the rights and welfare of humans participating as subjects in a research study. IRBs also enhance the value of a study by ensuring fidelity of data.
Read the NAATP OPP IRB Approval Letter.
We received a comment from a treatment provider that illustrates the importance of conducting authentic research. The provider suggested that our study may be illl-advised because it could damage our marketing efforts if data were to come back critical of our services. We advised that this was not a marketing study designed to sell a product, but rather a research study designed to evaluate service. If the data shows flaws, we want to know that information so that we can improve. We want the truth and we have an ethical and professional responsibility to seek it out.
Our goal as treatment providers is to provide the best possible services we can and the purpose of the study is to find out what is and is not working. Read the OPP Description.
Now, with a comprehensive research protocol, a confidential data collection system, and IRB oversight, we begin data collection through the following nine NAATP Accredited Provider Member pilot sites:
- Addiction Recovery Resources (ARRNO)
- Ashley Addiction Treatment
- Caron Treatment Centers
- Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
- Jaywalker Lodge
- New Directions for Women
- Seabrook House
- Sundown M Ranch
- Tully Hill Chemical Dependency Treatment Center
The National Association and these centers know well that treatment works; we see it everyday. We see sick people get well and human lives transform. Yet, until we take a proper inventory, we do not see the nuance. We do not necessarily see where we could do better. Nor are we adequately armed to demonstrate the value of addiction treatment to the press, the public, the policy-makers, and the behavioral and healthcare industries at large. This is the value of authentic research and we look forward to the results.
