The STop UNhealthy Substance Use Now Trial

NCT ID: NCT06524232

Last Updated: 2025-01-28

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

144 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-09-16

Study Completion Date

2027-09-30

Brief Summary

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The STop UNhealthy (STUN) Substance Use Now Trial (STUN II) is a multisite trial aiming to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of the following strategies for improving the implementation of screening and interventions for substance use disorders in primary care: practice facilitation (PF), PF plus a learning collaborative (LC), PF plus performance incentives (PI), and PF+LC+PI. We plan to enroll 144 clinic staff participants from 48 primary care practices

Detailed Description

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The STop UNhealthy (STUN) Substance Use Now Trial (STUN II) is a multisite trial aiming to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of the following strategies for improving the implementation of screening and interventions for substance use disorders in primary care: practice facilitation (PF), PF plus a learning collaborative (LC), PF plus performance incentives (PI), and PF+LC+PI. We plan to enroll 144 clinic staff participants from 48 primary care practices

Specific aim 1 (primary aim) will compare the effect of learning collaborative (LC) participation, performance incentives (PI), or their combination, with practice facilitation (PF) only, on implementation of evidence-based screening for SUDs.

Specific aim 2 (secondary aim) will compare the effect of LC participation, PI, or their combination, with PF only, on implementation of evidence-based interventions for SUDs, including (a) brief counseling, (b) medications (e.g., buprenorphine, naltrexone) and adherence to them, and (c) referral to specialty care.

Specific aims 1 and 2 will produce fundamentally important evidence about the comparative effectiveness of PF, PF+LC, PF+PI, and PF+LC+PI strategies on uptake of evidence-based screening and interventions for SUD when delivered to primary care practices.

Specific aim 3 (exploratory aim) will use a longitudinal mixed-methods evaluation to assess the association between implementation effectiveness and putative moderators (e.g., organizational readiness for change) and mediators (e.g., implementation climate). Aim 3 will generate scientific knowledge about mechanisms of change (why and how the various strategies work) in primary care settings.

Conditions

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Risky Health Behavior Substance Use Disorders Substance Abuse Alcohol Use Disorder Drinking, Alcohol Substance Use

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

FACTORIAL

STUN II is a 48-site randomized 2x2 factorial trial to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of implementation strategies, including practice facilitation (PF), PF + learning collaborative (LC), PF + performance incentives (PI), and PF+LC+PI, on implementation of screening for and delivery of evidence-based interventions for substance use disorders (SUD) in primary care. We will use a stratified block randomization strategy with a block size of 12 practices to ensure a high degree of balance between study arms. The implementation phase will last for 12 months, and we will conduct 12-month post-implementation assessments to assess sustainment. The 2x2 design will allow us to assess the improvement in rates of screening and delivery of evidence-based interventions for SUDs in primary care with PF alone and the incremental benefit of LC, PI, or their combination, to inform primary care practices and health systems about optimal implementation strategies.
Primary Study Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Practice Facilitation Only

Practice Facilitation: Practices will receive up to 2 hours of direct practice facilitation services per month for 12 months.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Practice Facilitation (PF)

Intervention Type OTHER

Practices will meet with practice facilitators monthly and apply tests of change using a Plan-Do-Study-Act approach, guided by the PF team. Facilitators will confirm that practices have established workflows for substance use disorder (SUD) screening and interventions and perform checks periodically to ensure progression. PF will entail: implementing protocols/algorithms for evidence-based screening and interventions, promoting decision support tools and templates to support practice workflow, optimizing electronic health record (EHR) use to pull clinical data monthly to guide the improvement process, developing patient registries (e.g., for those with SUD) to identify needed care and optimize delivery of evidence-based interventions, encouraging proactive, team-based care with assigned roles and responsibilities, and enhancing the understanding of evidence-based SUD interventions, including counseling and referral resources to ensure practices have appropriate intervention options.

Practice Facilitation + Learning Collaborative

Practice Facilitation (PF): Practices will receive up to 2 hours of direct practice facilitation services per month for 12 months.

Learning Collaborative (LC): Virtual LC sessions will be held monthly and will include participants presenting anonymized cases to clinical experts, targeted brief didactics related to the content of the cases, and time for open discussion and Q\&A.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Practice Facilitation (PF)

Intervention Type OTHER

Practices will meet with practice facilitators monthly and apply tests of change using a Plan-Do-Study-Act approach, guided by the PF team. Facilitators will confirm that practices have established workflows for substance use disorder (SUD) screening and interventions and perform checks periodically to ensure progression. PF will entail: implementing protocols/algorithms for evidence-based screening and interventions, promoting decision support tools and templates to support practice workflow, optimizing electronic health record (EHR) use to pull clinical data monthly to guide the improvement process, developing patient registries (e.g., for those with SUD) to identify needed care and optimize delivery of evidence-based interventions, encouraging proactive, team-based care with assigned roles and responsibilities, and enhancing the understanding of evidence-based SUD interventions, including counseling and referral resources to ensure practices have appropriate intervention options.

Learning Collaborative (LC)

Intervention Type OTHER

Virtual LC sessions will be held monthly and will include participants presenting anonymized cases to clinical experts, targeted brief didactics related to the content of the cases, and time for open discussion and Q\&A. Participant-generated ideas for topics to be covered during virtual LC sessions will be encouraged. Some specific topics will include optimal SUD screening approaches; prescribing medications for opioid use disorder (OUD) in primary care; pragmatic issues around integrated SUD care within primary care such as compliance with state and federal requirements, note templates/visit frequency, and when/how to escalate care for patients with severe or worsening SUD; medications for alcohol use disorder (AUD); and motivational interviewing.

Practice Facilitation + Performance Incentives

Practice Facilitation: Practices will receive up to 2 hours of direct practice facilitation services per month for 12 months.

Performance Incentives: Practices will receive a maximum total of $6,000 based on their performance during the 12-month implementation period. They will have the opportunity to receive up to $1,500 per quarter if they reach performance milestones for the quarter.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Practice Facilitation (PF)

Intervention Type OTHER

Practices will meet with practice facilitators monthly and apply tests of change using a Plan-Do-Study-Act approach, guided by the PF team. Facilitators will confirm that practices have established workflows for substance use disorder (SUD) screening and interventions and perform checks periodically to ensure progression. PF will entail: implementing protocols/algorithms for evidence-based screening and interventions, promoting decision support tools and templates to support practice workflow, optimizing electronic health record (EHR) use to pull clinical data monthly to guide the improvement process, developing patient registries (e.g., for those with SUD) to identify needed care and optimize delivery of evidence-based interventions, encouraging proactive, team-based care with assigned roles and responsibilities, and enhancing the understanding of evidence-based SUD interventions, including counseling and referral resources to ensure practices have appropriate intervention options.

Performance Incentives (PI)

Intervention Type OTHER

We will work closely with key stakeholders and the Steering Committee to co-design the PI strategy, refining the specific performance metrics to ensure that they align with other ongoing efforts in our partnering organizations. We plan to base the incentive on achieving a threshold target for the percentage of eligible adult patients screened for SUD, or the percentage improvement in screening, for quarters 1 and 2. For quarters 3 and 4, after practices have had time to implement and improve their processes for screening for SUD, the incentives will evolve to become a composite of (1) patients screened for SUD (the same as used in quarters 1 and 2) and (2) achieving a threshold target for the percentage of persons with SUD who received evidence-based interventions.

Practice Facilitation + Learning Collaborative + Performance Incentives

Practice Facilitation: Practices will receive up to 2 hours of direct practice facilitation services per month for 12 months.

Learning Collaborative (LC): Virtual LC sessions will be held monthly and will include participants presenting anonymized cases to clinical experts, targeted brief didactics related to the content of the cases, and time for open discussion and Q\&A.

Performance Incentives: Practices will receive a maximum total of $6,000 based on their performance during the 12-month implementation period. They will have the opportunity to receive up to $1,500 per quarter if they reach performance milestones for the quarter.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Practice Facilitation (PF)

Intervention Type OTHER

Practices will meet with practice facilitators monthly and apply tests of change using a Plan-Do-Study-Act approach, guided by the PF team. Facilitators will confirm that practices have established workflows for substance use disorder (SUD) screening and interventions and perform checks periodically to ensure progression. PF will entail: implementing protocols/algorithms for evidence-based screening and interventions, promoting decision support tools and templates to support practice workflow, optimizing electronic health record (EHR) use to pull clinical data monthly to guide the improvement process, developing patient registries (e.g., for those with SUD) to identify needed care and optimize delivery of evidence-based interventions, encouraging proactive, team-based care with assigned roles and responsibilities, and enhancing the understanding of evidence-based SUD interventions, including counseling and referral resources to ensure practices have appropriate intervention options.

Learning Collaborative (LC)

Intervention Type OTHER

Virtual LC sessions will be held monthly and will include participants presenting anonymized cases to clinical experts, targeted brief didactics related to the content of the cases, and time for open discussion and Q\&A. Participant-generated ideas for topics to be covered during virtual LC sessions will be encouraged. Some specific topics will include optimal SUD screening approaches; prescribing medications for opioid use disorder (OUD) in primary care; pragmatic issues around integrated SUD care within primary care such as compliance with state and federal requirements, note templates/visit frequency, and when/how to escalate care for patients with severe or worsening SUD; medications for alcohol use disorder (AUD); and motivational interviewing.

Performance Incentives (PI)

Intervention Type OTHER

We will work closely with key stakeholders and the Steering Committee to co-design the PI strategy, refining the specific performance metrics to ensure that they align with other ongoing efforts in our partnering organizations. We plan to base the incentive on achieving a threshold target for the percentage of eligible adult patients screened for SUD, or the percentage improvement in screening, for quarters 1 and 2. For quarters 3 and 4, after practices have had time to implement and improve their processes for screening for SUD, the incentives will evolve to become a composite of (1) patients screened for SUD (the same as used in quarters 1 and 2) and (2) achieving a threshold target for the percentage of persons with SUD who received evidence-based interventions.

Interventions

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Practice Facilitation (PF)

Practices will meet with practice facilitators monthly and apply tests of change using a Plan-Do-Study-Act approach, guided by the PF team. Facilitators will confirm that practices have established workflows for substance use disorder (SUD) screening and interventions and perform checks periodically to ensure progression. PF will entail: implementing protocols/algorithms for evidence-based screening and interventions, promoting decision support tools and templates to support practice workflow, optimizing electronic health record (EHR) use to pull clinical data monthly to guide the improvement process, developing patient registries (e.g., for those with SUD) to identify needed care and optimize delivery of evidence-based interventions, encouraging proactive, team-based care with assigned roles and responsibilities, and enhancing the understanding of evidence-based SUD interventions, including counseling and referral resources to ensure practices have appropriate intervention options.

Intervention Type OTHER

Learning Collaborative (LC)

Virtual LC sessions will be held monthly and will include participants presenting anonymized cases to clinical experts, targeted brief didactics related to the content of the cases, and time for open discussion and Q\&A. Participant-generated ideas for topics to be covered during virtual LC sessions will be encouraged. Some specific topics will include optimal SUD screening approaches; prescribing medications for opioid use disorder (OUD) in primary care; pragmatic issues around integrated SUD care within primary care such as compliance with state and federal requirements, note templates/visit frequency, and when/how to escalate care for patients with severe or worsening SUD; medications for alcohol use disorder (AUD); and motivational interviewing.

Intervention Type OTHER

Performance Incentives (PI)

We will work closely with key stakeholders and the Steering Committee to co-design the PI strategy, refining the specific performance metrics to ensure that they align with other ongoing efforts in our partnering organizations. We plan to base the incentive on achieving a threshold target for the percentage of eligible adult patients screened for SUD, or the percentage improvement in screening, for quarters 1 and 2. For quarters 3 and 4, after practices have had time to implement and improve their processes for screening for SUD, the incentives will evolve to become a composite of (1) patients screened for SUD (the same as used in quarters 1 and 2) and (2) achieving a threshold target for the percentage of persons with SUD who received evidence-based interventions.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Clinic staff members from primary care practices who provide care for adult patients and have a leadership role within the practice (e.g. lead physician, practice manager, lead medical assistant/nurse, clinical champion)

Exclusion Criteria

* Clinic staff members who already have ongoing involvement in programs that would conflict with or preclude this study
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Ohio Association of Community Health Centers (OACHC)

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Bon Secours Mercy Health (BSMH)

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

FED

Sponsor Role collaborator

Ohio State University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Dan.Jonas

Director and Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Daniel E Jonas, MD, MPH

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Ohio State University

Locations

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Bon Secours Mercy Health

Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

Columbus, Ohio, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Ohio Association of Community Health Centers

Columbus, Ohio, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Daniel E Jonas, MD, MPH

Role: CONTACT

614-293-8054

Leslie Brouwer, MS

Role: CONTACT

Facility Contacts

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William Felkel

Role: primary

Daniel Jonas

Role: primary

Brooke Sims

Role: primary

References

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Jonas DE, Brill SB, Fried M, Brouwer L, Riley S, MacEwan SR, Hyer M, Palettas M, Hall OT, Vilensky M, Teater J, Carson WF 2nd, Wei L, Garner BR. The STop UNhealthy substance use now (STUN II) trial: protocol for a 48-site cluster randomized 2 x 2 factorial implementation trial to improve evidence-based screening and interventions for substance use disorder within primary care. Implement Sci. 2025 Sep 30;20(1):40. doi: 10.1186/s13012-025-01454-3.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 41029867 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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1R18HS029782-01

Identifier Type: AHRQ

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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