SynthesisJournal of substance abuse treatment2021
The role of social network support in treatment outcomes for medication for opioid use disorder: A systematic review.
Synthesis in Journal of substance abuse treatment, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 2 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Barriers and facilitators to detoxification from opioid substitution treatment: A mixed-methods systematic review.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Pooled it
- A Review of the Ring Trial Design for Evaluating Ring Interventions for Infectious Diseases.Epidemiologic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Mindfulness Training vs Recovery Support for Opioid Use, Craving, and Anxiety During Buprenorphine Treatment: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- Disclosing Recovery: A pilot randomized controlled trial of a patient decision aid to improve disclosure processes for people in treatment for opioid use disorder.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2024Trial
- Mapping and measuring addiction recovery: Recommended protocols through the PHENX toolkit.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2026Review
- A Consensus Statement for Ecological Medicine: Moving Toward Connection-Based Medicine.EcoHealth · 2026Article
- Sexual minority (LGBQ+) women's experiences of accessing addiction services: a qualitative study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Family Dynamics and Opioid Misuse Among Black Americans: The Mediating Role of Emotional Support.Couple & family psychology · 2025Article
- Addressing barriers to addiction recovery services in the Northwest Territories, Canada.International journal of circumpolar health · 2025Article
- Willingness to receive medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD): A longitudinal analysis of social network support.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Article
- Associations Between Social Determinants of Health and Opioid-Use Disorder Among Chronic Pain Patients From a Multi-Institutional Dataset.Anesthesia and analgesia · 2025Article
- Barriers and facilitators of opioid treatment among Indigenous Syringe Services Program clients.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Article
- Opioid Use Among Individuals in Intimate Relationships.Couple & family psychology · 2025Article
- Social and behavioral correlates of sleep health among adults receiving medication treatment for opioid use disorder.Addiction research & theory · 2025Article
- Racial and Ethnic Factors and Opioid Use Disorder Treatment After an Emergency Department Visit.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Opioid Regulation of Social Homeostasis: Connecting Loneliness to Addiction.Biological psychiatry · 2025Review
- Drug treatment and support service utilization amidst the COVID-19 pandemic among people who inject drugs in Baltimore, Maryland: An interrupted time-series analysis, 2015-2022.The International journal on drug policy · 2025Article
- Exploring social impairment in those with opioid use disorder: linking impulsivity, childhood trauma, and the prefrontal cortex.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Family Perspectives on Stigma Toward Women Who Use Drugs in Tanzania.Issues in mental health nursing · 2025Article
- Public perceptions of opioid misuse recovery and related resources in a nationally representative sample of United States adults.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2025Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSocial connections can lead to contagion of healthy behaviors. Successful treatment of patients with opioid use disorder may lay in rebuilding social networks. Strong social networks of support can reinforce the benefits of medication treatments that are the current standard of care and the most effective tool physicians have to fight the opioid epidemic.
methodsThe research team conducted a systematic review of electronic research databases, specialist journals and grey literature up to August 2020 to identify randomized controlled trials of social network support in patient populations receiving medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). The research team placed the studies into a framework of dynamic social networks, examining the role of networks before MOUD treatment is initiated, during the treatment, and in the long-term following the treatment. The research team analyzed the results across three sources of social network support: partner relationships, family, and peer networks.
resultsOf 5193 articles screened, eight studies were identified as meeting inclusion criteria. Five studies indicated that social network support had a statistically significant effect on improved MOUD treatment outcomes. We find the strongest support for the positive impact of family social network support.
conclusionsSocial networks significantly shape effectiveness of opioid use disorder treatments. While negative social ties reinforce addiction, positive social support networks can amplify the benefits of medication treatments. Targeted interventions to improve treatment outcomes can be designed and added to MOUD treatment with their effects evaluated in improving patients' odds of recovery from opioid use disorder and reversing the rising trend in opioid deaths.
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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.