Moen Marik, Storm Kathena, Young Donald, Haines-Jones Rosalind, Loveland Darin, Kattakuzhy Sarah
University of Maryland School of Nursing, 655 W. Lombard St, Baltimore, MD, USA.
University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, PATIENTS Program, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Res Involv Engagem. 2025 Sep 1;11(1):107. doi: 10.1186/s40900-025-00770-8.
Substance use disorders and unmet social needs (like housing instability and social isolation) are major contributors to U.S. morbidity and mortality. We, patients, staff and researchers, established a research advisory committee (RAC) in an addictions treatment setting to guide research and interventions based on lived-experience.
We employed community engaged outreach methods to recruit, train, and establish the RAC, and the 10-Step Framework for Continuous Patient-Engagement to advise research activities, and to initiate our own research.
The RAC contributed unique insights, advising on 12 research projects. We present the process and challenges of establishing the RAC and the benefits to researchers and advisors. We also summarize a case example of a co-developed a research project related to housing stability and social connection.
This experience shows that establishing a patient/community advisory committee in addictions treatment settings is doable and valuable. Co-authoring this manuscript has allowed us to share how we are shaping research that is more likely to be acceptable to community participants and feasible to implement, especially for populations with addictions and facing barriers related to social determinants of health.
物质使用障碍和未满足的社会需求（如住房不稳定和社会孤立）是导致美国发病率和死亡率的主要因素。我们患者、工作人员和研究人员在一个成瘾治疗机构设立了一个研究咨询委员会（RAC），以基于实际生活经验指导研究和干预措施。
我们采用社区参与式外展方法来招募、培训和建立RAC，并采用持续患者参与的10步框架为研究活动提供建议，并开展我们自己的研究。
RAC提供了独特的见解，为12个研究项目提供了建议。我们介绍了建立RAC的过程和挑战以及对研究人员和顾问的益处。我们还总结了一个共同开发的与住房稳定性和社会联系相关的研究项目的案例。
这一经验表明，在成瘾治疗机构建立患者/社区咨询委员会是可行且有价值的。共同撰写本手稿使我们能够分享我们如何塑造更有可能为社区参与者所接受且易于实施的研究，特别是针对有成瘾问题且面临与健康社会决定因素相关障碍的人群。
