FAVOR Opioid Recovery Coaching Evaluation (FORCE)

FAVOR (Faces and Voices of Recovery) OF GREENVILLE, South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services

The Emergency Department (ED) is an ideal location to identify patients in need of treatment for opioid addiction. A local non-profit community-based addiction recovery program, Faces and Voices of Recovery (FAVOR) utilizes a peer recovery coaching model applied to substance use disorders by identifying, training, credentialing and supervising individuals who have been in recovery for at least 2 years. These peer recovery coaches become the primary workforce in this community-based model. FAVOR provides no-cost comprehensive services for addiction recovery. The investigators hypothesized that having FAVOR Recovery Coaches (FRC) evaluate patients during an ED visit for opioid overdose would result in a high degree of engagement from the patients and serve as an opportunity to begin treatment for addiction.

The Emergency Department (ED) is an ideal location to identify patients in need of treatment for opioid addiction. A local non-profit community-based addiction recovery program, Faces and Voices of Recovery (FAVOR) utilizes a peer recovery coaching model applied to substance use disorders by identifying, training, credentialing and supervising individuals who have been in recovery for at least 2 years.These peer recovery coaches become the primary workforce in this community-based model. FAVOR provides no-cost comprehensive services for addiction recovery. The investigators hypothesized that having FAVOR Recovery Coaches (FRC) evaluate patients during an ED visit for opioid overdose would result in a high degree of engagement from the patients and serve as an opportunity to begin treatment for addiction.

Intervention with FAVOR peer recovery coaching. Patients identified in the ED as opioid overdose and enrolled in the current study.

After identification, a 24/7 on-call FRC was paged and met with the patient in the ED. The patients were offered recovery services at the bedside by the FRC. The research team members offered voluntary participation and obtained informed consent to enrolling a longitudinal study looking into the success of his intervention. Patients did not need to participate to be eligible for counseling and resources from AVOR. The FRCs counselled and engaged the patient along with the family to offer a variety of services including active recovery coaching, group treatment modalities, family support services and transportation. After he initial encounter in the ED, the FAVOR team re-engaged the participant by phone or in person the next day and gradually increasing intervals thereafter.

Defined as: Patients who have had phone, email, or in-person contact with their FAVOR recovery coach after discharge from the Emergency Department.

Inclusion Criteria: Patients presenting to the ED with opioid overdose or withdrawal Exclusion Criteria: Age <18 Known pregnant female Prisoners