{"id":149,"date":"2010-03-19T15:33:40","date_gmt":"2010-03-19T19:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/care\/?page_id=149"},"modified":"2025-10-02T11:23:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T15:23:26","slug":"aspire-study","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/care\/research-studies\/aspire-study\/","title":{"rendered":"ASPIRE Study"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Principal Investigator<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Richard Saitz, MD, MPH<\/a>, Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health<\/p>\n

Key Personnel <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Daniel P. Alford, MD<\/a>, Co-Investigator<\/p>\n

Judith Bernstein, PhD, MSN<\/a>, Co-Investigator, Boston University School of Public Health<\/p>\n

Jeremy Bray, PhD, Economist, Research Triangle Institute<\/p>\n

Christine Chaisson, MPH<\/a>, Co-Investigator, PI of Data Coordinating Center Subcontract, Boston University School of Public Health<\/p>\n

Debbie Cheng, ScD<\/a>, Biostatistician, Boston University School of Public Health<\/p>\n

Tibor Palfai, PhD<\/a>, Co-Investigator, PI of Boston University Subcontract<\/p>\n

Jeffrey Samet, MD, MPH<\/a>, Co-Investigator, Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health<\/p>\n

Gary Zarkin, PhD, Economist, PI of Research Triangle Institute Subcontract<\/p>\n

Project Manager <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Seville Meli, MPH <\/strong>
\n617-414-6917
\nSeville@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

Staff<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Laura Wulach, Project Coordinator<\/p>\n

Keshia Toussaint, Research Assistant<\/p>\n

Grant Abstract<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The efficacy of brief intervention for drug use among primary care patients is not known.\u00a0 As a result, national professional organizations do not recommend universal screening.\u00a0 Yet a strong theoretical case can be made for such screening: drug use is common and associated with numerous health consequences, patients usually do not seek help, and screening and brief intervention has proven efficacy for other substance use (e.g., alcohol). Policy has advanced based on this case: large federal efforts to disseminate screening and brief intervention are underway, and reimbursement codes for insurers to compensate clinicians for these activities have been developed. The discrepancy between the science and these policy developments underscore the need to test brief intervention\u2019s efficacy among patients identified by screening.\u00a0 The objective of this study, the Assessing Screening Plus brief Intervention\u2019s Resulting Efficacy to stop drug use (the ASPIRE) Study<\/em>, is to determine the efficacy of two models of brief intervention for decreasing drug use and consequences in primary care patients.\u00a0 In collaboration with a state project implementing screening and brief intervention as part of a federal program, we will screen patients in a large hospital-based primary care practice for drug use.\u00a0 We will then enroll 1,800 screen-positive subjects, randomly assign them to 1 of 3 groups, and follow them for 6 months.\u00a0 Subjects in one intervention group will be assigned to a standard brief intervention model, conducted by trained health promotion advocates as part of local implementation of a widely disseminated federal program.\u00a0 In another group, subjects will be assigned to an enhanced, more-intensive brief intervention model that includes a booster contact and is conducted by master\u2019s-level counselors trained and monitored intensively to perform motivational interviewing.\u00a0 The control group will receive information (i.e., a written list of local resources to help people using drugs) and, at the end of six months, standard brief intervention if they are still using drugs.\u00a0 Primary outcomes are abstinence from drug use and drug use consequences including HIV-risk behaviors at 6 months, and receipt of substance dependence treatment (among those with dependence).\u00a0 We will also compare costs and outcomes associated with each group.\u00a0 The main hypotheses are that 1) an enhanced brief intervention model will have greater efficacy than screening and resource information alone (control) for increasing drug abstinence, decreasing drug use consequences (including HIV-risk behaviors), and increasing receipt of treatment, 2) a standard brief intervention model will have greater efficacy than control for the same outcomes, and 3) an enhanced brief intervention will have greater efficacy than a standard brief intervention.\u00a0 We also hypothesize that the enhanced brief intervention will have higher implementation costs but lower net intervention costs (implementation, future healthcare, and crime costs) than the other groups.\u00a0 Results of this study\u2014efficacy and costs of brief intervention for drug use\u2014will be essential for making decisions about disseminating drug use screening and brief intervention in primary care settings.<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

Publications<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Fuster D, Cheng DM, Allensworth-Davies D, Palfai T, Samet JH, Saitz R.\u00a0 No detectable association between frequency of marijuana use and health or healthcare utilization among primary care patients who screen positive for drug use. <\/a>\u00a0 J Gen Intern Med<\/em>. 2014 Jan;29(1):133-9.<\/p>\n

Saitz R, Palfai TP, Cheng DM, Alford DP, Bernstein JA, Lloyd-Travaglini CA, Meli SM, Chaisson CE, Samet JH. Screening and brief intervention for drug use in primary care: the Assessing Screening Plus brief Intervention\u2019s Resulting Efficacy to stop drug use (ASPIRE) randomized trial. <\/a> Presented at: INEBRIA, SGIM, CPDD, AMERSA, AHSR Annual Meetings, 2013. Addict Sci Clin Prac<\/em>, 2013; 8(Suppl 1): A61. doi:10.1186\/1940-0640-8-S1-A61<\/p>\n

Zarkin G, Bray J, Hinde J, Saitz R. Implementation costs of screening and brief intervention for illicit drug use. Addict Sci Clin Prac<\/em>, 2013; 8(Suppl 1): A88. doi:10.1186\/1940-0640-8-S1-A88<\/p>\n

Saitz R, Alford D, Witas J, Allensworth-Davies D, Palfai T, Cheng DM, Bernstein J, Samet JH. Universal screening for drug use in urban primary care. Addict Sci Clin Prac<\/em>, 2012; 7(Suppl 1): A14.<\/p>\n

Saitz R, Alford D, Witas J, Allensworth-Davies D, Palfai T, Cheng DM, Bernstein J, Samet JH. Implementing drug screening in primary care: Not finding what we are looking for? Presented at: CPDD Annual Meeting, June 22, 2011; Hollywood, FL.<\/p>\n

Squires LE, Alford DP, Bernstein J, Palfai T, Saitz R. Screening and Brief Intervention for Drug Use in Primary Care. <\/a> J Addict Med<\/em>, 2010; 4(3): 131-136.<\/p>\n

Saitz R, Alford DP, Bernstein J, Cheng DM, Samet J, Palfai T. Screening and Brief Intervention for Unhealthy Drug Use in Primary Care Settings: Randomized Clinical Trials Are Needed. <\/a>\u00a0 J Addict Med<\/em>,\u00a0 2010; 4(3): 123-130.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Principal Investigator \u00a0Richard Saitz, MD, MPH, Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health Key Personnel Daniel P. Alford, MD, Co-Investigator Judith Bernstein, PhD, MSN, Co-Investigator, Boston University School of Public Health Jeremy Bray, PhD, Economist, Research Triangle Institute Christine Chaisson, MPH, Co-Investigator, PI of Data Coordinating Center Subcontract, Boston University School of Public […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1251,"featured_media":0,"parent":62,"menu_order":30,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/care\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/149"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/care\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/care\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/care\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1251"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/care\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/care\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15002,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/care\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/149\/revisions\/15002"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/care\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/62"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/care\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}