REC-PATH (Recovery Pathways): Overview of a Four-Country Study of Pathways to Recovery from Problematic Drug Use

Abstract

While there has been a growth in recent years in recovery research, much of this has been from the US and there is very little comparative research in this area. This paper describes the rationale, conceptual foundations and methods for a prospective, multi-country, cohort study aimed to map pathways to recovery from problematic illicit drug use, with a specific focus on gender differences in recovery pathways. Our study combines qualitative and quantitative components and examines the impact of recovery policy on the accessibility and viability of recovery pathways in England, Scotland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Additionally, the paper describes five processes through which mechanisms for behaviour change for recovery may be triggered. This study will provide opportunities for linking recovery outcome research with analyses of national recovery policies, while also addressing the gap in literature around female pathways to recovery.

Measuring capital in active addiction and recovery: the development of the strengths and barriers recovery scale (SABRS)

“…The study also provides further evidence around residual barriers and obstacles to recovery and understanding how these can be addressed and how they can be overcome through the development of strengths will be a critical aim for future recovery science. However, this work is ongoing and our intention is to run future iterations of the LiR survey that will increase power and will allow us both to examine cultural variations in recovery pathways and more in-depth analyses of country to country variations in both samples and responses, building on, for example, the REC-PATH study [12].…”

“…Best and colleagues [12] have outlined the design and methods for the REC-PATH study, a multi-site longitudinal study of (gender) differences in recovery pathways in the UK, Netherlands and Belgium, with an exclusive focus on illicit drug recovery. The screening instrument that was used to recruit to this study was the Life in Recovery survey (LiR) with only slight adaptations for the study and a Dutch/Flemish translation [13].…”

“…The same broad themes emergedincluding marked improvements across the same five domains of work, finances, legal status, family and social relationships, and citizenshipbut with sufficient local variations to suggest that recovery pathways are not insensitive to local and cultural contexts. A multi-country study (REC-PATH) using the LiR was recently set up to compare recovery experiences and pathways in three countries and to assess the role of contextual and societal factors [12].…”

Measuring capital in active addiction and recovery: The development of the Strengths And Barriers Recovery Scale (SABRS)

“…The same broad themes emerged -including marked improvements across the same ve domains of work, nances, legal status, family and social relationships, and citizenship -but with su cient local variations to suggest that recovery pathways are not insensitive to local and cultural contexts. A multi-country study (REC-PATH) using the LiR was recently set up to compare recovery experiences and pathways in 3 countries and to assess the role of contextual and societal factors [12].…”

“Personal recovery depends on NA unity”: an exploratory study on recovery-supportive elements in Narcotics Anonymous Flanders

“…Processes of substance use disorder (SUD) recovery are found to be unique and their idiosyncratic nature is acknowledged [1,2]. Consequently, there is great variety in possible recovery pathways and a range of support and treatment options need to be available to support recovery [3][4][5][6]. The intervention spectrum includes, besides formal treatment and support services, also non-professionally assisted programs (e.g., mutual aid organizations) to support recovery processes [7][8][9][10][11][12][13].…”