Trial reportThe International journal on drug policy2019
Randomized controlled trial of harm reduction treatment for alcohol (HaRT-A) for people experiencing homelessness and alcohol use disorder.
Trial report in The International journal on drug policy, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 31 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Increasing Access to Evidence-based Treatment for Chronic Pain and Opioid Use Disorder: Adapting Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Opioid Treatment Programs
eHaRT-A: Adapting an Evidence-based, In-person Harm Reduction Treatment Into a Virtual Care Telehealth Intervention for People With Lived Experience of Homelessness and Alcohol Use Disorder
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic meta-epidemiologic review on nonabstinence-inclusive interventions for substance use: inclusion of race/ethnicity and sex assigned at birth/gender.The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Provision of peer support at the intersection of homelessness and problem substance use services: a systematic 'state of the art' review.BMC public health · 2020Pooled it
- Secondary analysis of a combined harm-reduction treatment and extended-release naltrexone randomized clinical trial for alcohol use disorder: Differences across race, ethnicity and sex assigned at birth.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Trial
- Protective behavioral strategies and alcohol consequences following a group-based motivational intervention for young adults experiencing homelessness.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2025Trial
- Safer-use strategies in the context of harm-reduction treatment for people experiencing homelessness and alcohol use disorder.The International journal on drug policy · 2024Trial
- World Health Organization (WHO) risk level reductions in inpatients with alcohol use disorder and comorbid anxiety disorders.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2023Trial
- Combining behavioral harm-reduction treatment and extended-release naltrexone for people experiencing homelessness and alcohol use disorder in the USA: a randomised clinical trial.The lancet. Psychiatry · 2021Trial
- Jail and Emergency Department Utilization in the Context of Harm Reduction Treatment for People Experiencing Homelessness and Alcohol Use Disorder.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2021Trial
- Impact of Harm Reduction Treatment with or without Pharmacotherapy on Polysubstance Use among People Experiencing Homelessness and Alcohol Use Disorder.Journal of addiction medicineTrial
- Mapping needles, reducing harm: Findings from a geospatial, community-based needle collection and naloxone training initiative in Saskatchewan, Canada.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Quality of life measures in treatment for active substance misuse: a scoping review.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Article
- Primary Care Patient and Clinician Perspectives on Safer Use Strategies for Opioids and/or Stimulants: A Mixed-Method Study.Journal of general internal medicine · 2025Article
- Effects of odor-induced autobiographical memory recall interventions on the mental health of individuals with problem drinking behaviors.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for reducing problematic substance use, mental ill health, and housing instability in people experiencing homelessness in high income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Campbell systematic reviews · 2025Review
- Influence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Severity on Return to Substance Use Immediately Following Residential Substance Use Treatment.International journal of mental health and addiction · 2025Article
- Group-based medical mistrust in genomic medicine: Associations with patient and provider perceptions of a specialty clinical encounter.Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics · 2024Article
- 'Everywhere I call, there's nothing available': Understanding the alcohol treatment landscape and needs among unstably housed people who use alcohol in Rhode Island.Drug and alcohol review · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPeople experiencing homelessness are disproportionately affected by alcohol use disorder (AUD). Abstinence-based treatment, however, does not optimally engage or treat this population. Thus, harm reduction treatment for alcohol (HaRT-A) was developed together with people with lived experience of homelessness and AUD and community-based agencies that serve them. HaRT-A is a compassionate and pragmatic approach that aims to help people reduce alcohol-related harm and improve quality of life (QoL) without requiring abstinence or use reduction. A three-month, two-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted to test the initial efficacy of HaRT-A compared to a services-as-usual control condition.
methodsPeople experiencing homelessness and AUD (N = 168; 24% women) were recruited in community-based clinical and social services settings. Self-reported alcohol use, alcohol-related harm, motivation, and QoL as well as urinary ethyl glucuronide were assessed over a 3-month follow-up. Participants were randomized to receive HaRT-A or services as usual. Over four sessions, HaRT-A interventionists delivered three components: a) collaborative tracking of participant-preferred alcohol metrics, b) elicitation of harm-reduction and QoL goals, and c) discussion of safer-drinking strategies.
resultsCompared to control participants, HaRT-A participants reported significantly greater increases in confidence to engage in harm reduction and decreases in peak alcohol use, alcohol-related harm, AUD symptoms, and positive urinary ethyl glucuronide tests (ps < .05). Findings were inconclusive regarding group differences on QoL (ps > .12).
conclusionA low-barrier, low-intensity, patient-driven, harm-reduction approach has at least short-term efficacy in improving AUD outcomes in this population. Future studies are needed to establish its longer-term efficacy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.