It takes a village: A pilot study of a group telehealth intervention for support persons affected by opioid use disorder
Abstract
Introduction Opioid use disorder (OUD) has devastating effects on individuals, families, and communities. The Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) is a Support Person (SP)-focused intervention that aims to increase SPs' communication strategies, positive reinforcement/rewards, and social support. This pilot study, called eINSPIRE (INtegrating Support Persons Into REcovery), adapted CRAFT for delivery via group telehealth. The aims were to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of this intervention on patient buprenorphine retention and SP mental health. Methods The study recruited patients receiving buprenorphine treatment in a primary care setting across five community health centers with their SP (N = 100 dyads). SP participants were randomly assigned to receive usual care (UC) or the eINSPIRE intervention. We interviewed Patients and SPs at baseline and three months later. The study collected patient buprenorphine retention data from the electronic medical record three months post-baseline. Results About 88 % (656/742) of potentially eligible patients were able to nominate a SP and 69 % (100/145) of nominated SPs were eligible and consented to the study. eINSPIRE groups had low reach (25 % of SPs attended), but high exposure (M = 7 of 10 sessions attended) and acceptability (classes helped them with their patient's OUD). The proportion of eINSPIRE patients (68 %) and UC patients (53 %) retained on buprenorphine at follow-up were similar (p = 0.203). SPs in both conditions reported similar reductions in their depression, anxiety, and impairment symptoms. Conclusions Preliminary data suggest that eINSPIRE groups may not be feasible in primary care without further adaptations for this population. A future study with a larger sample size is needed to elucidate the observed distribution differences in buprenorphine retention. Future research should also explore methods to reduce barriers to SP session attendance to improve the reach of this evidence-based intervention.
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Implementation of virtual face-to-face meetings with a practitioner represents the most direct translation of the CRAFT intervention into an online format.
“Implementation of virtual face-to-face meetings with a practitioner represents the most direct translation of the CRAFT intervention into an online format, as demonstrated in two studies that have delivered practitioner-led online CRAFT.”
From Online community reinforcement and family training (CRAFT) for rural concerned significant others: A randomized controlled trial (2026) · cites this paper as Osilla et al., 2024
The studies by McCarthy et al. (2022) and Osilla et al. (2024) were conducted in the USA.
“and the USA (McCarthy et al., 2022”
From Online community reinforcement and family training (CRAFT) for rural concerned significant others: A randomized controlled trial (2026) · cites this paper as Osilla et al., 2024
Online CRAFT adaptations have shown mixed impact on CSO treatment outcomes.
“However, online CRAFT adaptations have shown mixed impact on CSO treatment outcomes (Eék et al., 2020”
From Online community reinforcement and family training (CRAFT) for rural concerned significant others: A randomized controlled trial (2026) · cites this paper as Osilla et al., 2024
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- Authors
- Osilla, K. C., Manuel, J. K., Becker, K., Nameth, K., Burgette, L., Ober, A. J., DeYoreo, M., Lodge, B. S., Hurley, B., & Watkins, K. E.
- Affiliations
- Stanford Medicine (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- RAND Corporation (US)
- Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Osilla, Karen Chan
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2024-06
- Volume
- 161
- Pages
- 209290
- ISSN
- 2949-8759 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4391150868
- Cited by
- 8
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 1
- FWCI
- 3.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- PCORI (OBOT-2018C2-12876-IC)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Keywords
- opioid use disorder, support persons, family involvement, Community Reinforcement and Family Training, primary care, community health centers, feasibility, acceptability, family mental health, depression, anxiety
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Buprenorphine, Feasibility Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Opioid-Related Disorders, Pilot Projects, Primary Health Care, Self-Help Groups, Social Support, Telemedicine, Opiate Substitution Treatment
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