# Exploring Barriers and Facilitators of Employment in Veterans with Opioid Use Disorders

> **NIH VA I21** · TUSCALOOSA VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CTR · 2021 · —

## Abstract

Significance: Living with an opioid use disorder (OUD) can make obtaining and sustaining employment
a significant challenge. Adults who have a current OUD are significantly more likely to be unemployed
and make less income compared to those with past OUD or those without lifetime OUD. For most
individuals in treatment for an OUD, being employed is an important part of their recovery journey.
Employment has several benefits, including reductions in preoccupation with symptoms, social isolation,
risk of suicide, hopelessness, and economic instability, which often results in homelessness. However,
with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant number of Veterans have lost their jobs are
currently seeking meaningful and competitive employment. Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is
an evidenced-based supported employment intervention that is considered the gold standard of
vocational rehabilitation. Only one small study has examined the effectiveness of IPS among individuals
with OUD on methadone maintenance (n=45) and found that 50% of the IPS participants gained
competitive employment compared to 5% of the waitlist control participants at 6 months (p<0.001). Prior
to launching a well-warranted large-scale study of IPS for OUD, a better understanding of the barriers,
facilitators, preferences, and employment accommodations in this unique patient population is needed to
better tailor IPS delivery for Veterans recovering from OUD.
Specific Aim: Examine the barriers and facilitators of sustained employment, including evaluation of
employment challenges, occupational functioning, community integration, and quality of life and
satisfaction among Veterans with OUD diagnosis.
Methods and Procedures: This pilot study primarily utilizes a qualitative design, specifically
phenomenology. Quantitative data will also be collected to better understand the patient population and
will include (a) socio-demographic information such as age, level of education, employment history,
income and source of income, housing and experiences with homelessness (b) history of substance use,
(c) mental health- specifically depressive symptomology, (d) occupational functioning, and (e) quality of
life related information. Utilizing phenomenology approach, qualitative interviews will be conducted with
50 Veterans, at least 6 of whom are or will be engaged in IPS services, 6 vocational rehabilitation
specialists (includes 4 IPS specialists), 6 mental health or addiction recovery providers, and at least 6
employers/potential employers who may have or would be willing to employ persons with OUD. The
participants must read and sign an IRB-approved informed consent prior to participating. To conduct the
data analyses, the seven steps to procedural data analysis in phenomenological studies will be utilized.
This approach examines participants associated meanings to the phenomenon under investigation and
provides researchers the ability to identify the emerging themes. Primari...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10252451
- **Project number:** 1I21RX003615-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** TUSCALOOSA VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Mercy N Mumba
- **Activity code:** I21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10252451

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10252451, Exploring Barriers and Facilitators of Employment in Veterans with Opioid Use Disorders (1I21RX003615-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10252451. Licensed CC0.

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