Form Community-Program Community-Program Community-Program Clinical Staff Baseline

Form Approved

OMB No. ###

Expiration Date ###

Opioid State Targeted Response

(STR) Evaluation

Community/Program Baseline

Interview Protocol for Clinicians

Public Burden Statement: An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.  The OMB control number for this project is 0930-0xxx.  Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 90 minutes per respondent, per year, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.  Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 15E57-B, Rockville, Maryland, 20857.

chapter i: Information and directions

Purpose. The primary purpose of this protocol is to:

• Document and assess the effectiveness of Opioid STR in providing prevention, treatment and recovery services for opioid use disorder, and

• Gain insights to improve Opioid STR grant processes and future efforts to prevent, treat and help individuals recover from opioid use disorder.

* Except where noted, all questions refer to prevention strategies, treatment and/or recovery services for opioid use disorder and related conditions (e.g., non-medical use of prescription pain medication, heroin users, one-time users, overdose, etc.) in the community/program BEFORE receiving Opioid STR funding.

Content. Specific topics include current practices for preventing or treating opioid use disorder; barriers and facilitators to accessing opioid use disorder services; and community readiness for addressing opioid use disorder.

Pre-Interview. The interviewer will prepare for the interviews by:

• Scheduling on-site interviews with clinicians or other clinical staff at programs that have agreed to participate in the evaluation and who are willing to be interviewed in fall 2017 or early 2018 during the site visit;

• Asking each participant to sign a written consent form to conduct and record the interview; and

• Reviewing Community/Program Baseline Instrument responses and other relevant documents.

Site Visit. Site visits will consist of individual in-person interviews with clinicians or other staff at programs that are receiving Opioid STR funds. The interviewer will record data using questions/items found in this protocol. Interviews may be audio-recorded, pending consent (see Preparation for Interviews above), to ensure data integrity. The audio-recordings and completed interviews will be stored securely to ensure confidentiality. Any information or quotes used from the interview and included in community/program reports shall remain anonymous as to the individual and their position in the community/program.

Post-Interview. The interviewer will complete the interview process by:

• Transcribing the audio-recordings;

• Comparing the audio-recordings to the written interview responses for accuracy;

• Providing a draft copy of the interview notes to the interviewee for review;

• Contacting interviewees to clarify responses or to obtain additional information (if needed);

• Obtaining any feedback from the interviewees and making any additions to the notes;

• Destroying the audio-recording; and

• Filing any written materials obtained from the grantee.

interviewer: Read the following introduction verbatim to the interviewee

Hello, my name is ______________ and I work for the [INSERT CONTRACTOR NAME] as part of the team conducting an evaluation of the State Targeted Response to Opioid Abuse Grants, commonly known as the Opioid STR grants, which is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA. We are interviewing clinicians at these grantee sites to get their unique perspectives on several important topics related to the provision of prevention, treatment and recovery strategies/services to address opioid use disorder.

The overall goal of the evaluation is to document and assess the effectiveness of Opioid STR in providing prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies/services for opioid use disorder. We also want to gain insights to improve Opioid STR grant processes and future efforts to prevent, treat, and help individuals recover from opioid use disorder.

This is the first interview that will be conducted as part of the Opioid STR program evaluation process. You are one of several other clinicians that agreed to be interviewed across selected community/program sites. All clinicians will be asked the same questions. Interview results may be reported in the Opioid STR evaluation report and the community/program reports, but information and quotes will not be attributed to you or your position as your name and role in the program will not be identified in any report. We will provide you with a copy of the interview notes and ask for your review and feedback.

As we progress through the interview, please think about what helped and hindered you in providing opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies/services. We are especially interested in hearing your success stories and lessons-learned that could help other communities/programs. If your community/program has developed any innovative approaches, please share them during the interview.

This interview will take about 1 hour. In addition, we may contact you after this interview to clarify responses or to obtain additional information. In preparation for this interview, you consented to audio-recording. We are audio-recording this interview as a backup to our written/typed notes. The audio-recording will remain confidential and be destroyed after the interview notes are finalized.

Is it OK if I begin recording now?

[IF YES, START RECORDING.]

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this interview. Do you have any questions for me before we begin?

 

[IF YES, ANSWER QUESTIONS]

[IF NO, SAY: WE WILL NOW START GOING THROUGH THE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS]

Section I. Roles & Responsibilities

Before we begin, we would like to ask you a little about yourself.

1. What is your current position title? _____________________.

2. How long have you been in this position? ____________(enter # followed by MONTH or YEAR, if <6 months enter 0)

3. What is your gender? ___________________________

4. What is your race and/orethnicity? _________________________

5. What is your highest degree? ____________________________

6. In what discipline (e.g., medicine, psychology, social work, etc.) did you earn your highest degree?

Section II. patient population

Next, we would like to find out more about the patient population that you serve.

7. What are the characteristics of individuals with opioid use disorder in the area served by your program (i.e. demographics, age, homeless, etc.)?

PROBE:

• Would you say that any of these populations are particularly underserved?

8. What are the most common opioids misused in your community (e.g., heroin, prescription drugs, etc.)?

9. Where do most people with opioid use disorder in your community go to receive treatment?

PROBE:

• What barriers might these individuals face in accessing treatment?

10. What do you see as the most significant need in your community for addressing opioid use disorder?

Section III. current practices

Next, we would like to ask you about your clinical practices for screening and treating patients for opioid use disorder prior to receiving STR funding.

11. How do you screen for opioid use disorder among your patients/clients?

PROBES:

• What has been most helpful to you in screening for opioid use disorder?

• What has been most challenging to you in screening for opioid use disorder?

12. What treatment and recovery services are currently available at your program site to address opioid use disorder?

PROBES:

• What has been most helpful to you in providing opioid use disorder treatment/recovery services?

• What has been the biggest challenge in providing opioid use disorder treatment/recovery services?

13. What activities (if any) does your program site deliver in your community to prevent opioid use disorder?

14. Does your program site work with any other agencies or organizations on the prevention, treatment, or recovery services to address opioid use disorder? (e.g., other treatment sites, law enforcement, social services)

Section Iv. barriers and facilitators

We would like to learn more about your perspective on barriers and facilitators to accessing treatment or recovery services among individuals or populations who suffer from opioid use disorder. We are especially interested in the period prior to receiving Opioid STR funds.

15. During the one-year period prior to receiving Opioid STR funding (from May 1, 2016 to April 30, 2017), what difficulties (or barriers) did individuals in your community encounter in accessing opioid use disorder prevention services?

PROBES:

• Do you think there were an adequate number of behavioral health care providers/staff in your community/program to provide prevention services?

• Do you think staff at your program had the right knowledge and skills to provide opioid use disorder prevention services?

• Do you think staff at your program had the right level of experience to deliver prevention, services to the targeted populations?

16. During the one-year period prior to receiving opioid STR funding (from May 1, 2016 to April 30, 2017), what training and technical assistance did you need around opioid use disorder prevention services?

17. During the one-year period prior to receiving Opioid STR funding (from May 1, 2016 to April 30, 2017), what difficulties (or barriers) did individuals in your community encounter in accessing opioid use disorder treatment/recovery services?

PROBES:

• Do you think there were an adequate number of behavioral health care providers/staff in your community/program to provide opioid use disorder treatment/recovery services?

• Do you think staff at your program had the right knowledge and skills to provide opioid use disorder treatment/recovery services?

• Do you think staff at your program had the right level of experience to deliver opioid use disorder treatment/recovery services to the targeted populations?

18. During the one-year period prior to receiving opioid STR funding (from May 1, 2016 to April 30, 2017), what training and technical assistance did you need related to opioid use disorder treatment/recovery services?

19. Which populations do you think should be targeted as high priority groups for prevention activities?

20. Which populations do you think should be targeted as high priority groups for treatment and recovery activities?

Section V. Plans for Opioid STR Funds

21. How will your program site improve or expand its services for prevention, treatment/recovery of opioid use disorder with the Opioid STR funds?

PROBE:

• Will you build on previous or existing strategies or will you try entirely new approaches?

22. What evidence-based practices will your site use to address opioid use disorder? Are any of these evidence-based practices newly implemented in your community/program?

PROBES: (Option 1) If new evidence-based practices will be implemented:

1. What do you see as potential barriers to delivering new evidence-based practices for patients/clients with opioid use disorder at your program site?

2. How might you adapt those practices and/or overcome those challenges?

PROBES: (Option 2) If no new evidence-based practices will be implemented:

3. Why do you think no new evidence-based practices will be implemented?

23. Do you think the Opioid STR funding will increase access to treatment for opioid use disorder?

PROBES: (Option 1) If respondent believes Opioid STR funding will increase access to treatment for opioid use disorder:

1. To which types of care do you think individuals will have increased access? (i.e. medications, therapy, overdose prevention, etc.)

PROBES: (Option 2) If respondent believes Opioid STR funding will not increase access to treatment for opioid use disorder:

2. Why don’t you think Opioid STR funding will lead to increased access to treatment for opioid use disorder?

24. Do you think this funding will help certain populations more than others?

25. How do you think the Opioid STR funding will be used to keep people engaged in treatment?

26. Would you like to add anything else that we did not talk about regarding your community or program's ability to provide prevention, treatment and/or recovery services for opioid use disorder?

[IF YES, PROBE AND RECORD AS NEEDED]

If you have any questions or concerns about this interview, please contact [INSERT NAME] by telephone message (at XXX-XXX-XXXX), or by email (to email address). You can request assistance at any time and someone will respond to you on the next business day. As mentioned, we will provide you with a draft copy of the interview notes to ensure we captured your perspective accurately.

Thank you for your time.

[STOP RECORDING]