# Recovery Housing for Alcohol and Drug Use Disorders: A National Study of Availability, Characteristics, and Factors Associated with Evidence-based Practices

> **NIH NIH R01** · PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE · 2021 · $137,247

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Safe and stable housing is critical to recovery from alcohol and other drug disorders. Among individuals in
recovery from these disorders, those living in recovery housing are among the most vulnerable. Recovery
housing is rooted in the social model of recovery, which emphasizes peer support in helping residents maintain
their recovery. CDC guidance for the general public for managing COVID-19 as well as its guidance for shared
or congregate housing providers may present significant challenges for residential recovery residence operators.
Because the majority of recovery residences operate with almost no formal third-party payers to reimburse or
offset costs of this service, furloughs and work stoppages for residents who are responsible for paying for this
service may contribute financial hardship and closure of recovery residences. To better understand how recovery
residence are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on recovery housing, this applications aims
to: (1) Examine the extent to which CDC guidance and other best practice guidelines are being implemented in
recovery residences, identify residence and other contextual characteristics related to differential
implementation, and describe changes in implementation over time; and (2) Examine how the pandemic has
affected the availability and financial viability of recovery housing, identify whether this impact differs by
residence and other contextual factors, and describe changes in availability and financial viability over time. To
address these aims, the proposed study will add questions to the survey administered to residences (N=800)
participating in the National Study of Treatment and Addiction Recovery Residence (NSTARR) project
(R01AA027782). These questions will query the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected sources
of revenue for the residence, policies and practices, and programming for residents. An additional 200 randomly
sampled residences (stratified by US Census Division) will be asked to complete a COVID-19-specific survey
that also collects information on implementation of COVID-19 guidance to ensure resident and staff safety. These
residences will be geocoded and linked with US Census data, COVID-19 case rates, and geo-located data for
federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and publicly-funded hospitals. They will also be resurveyed 6 and 12
months later to track changes over time. Finally, operators of residences that are no longer open will be asked
to participate in a semi-structured interview about the role that COVID-19 may have played in residence closure.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10430298
- **Project number:** 3R01AA027782-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** AMY Adale MERICLE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $137,247
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-15 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10430298

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10430298, Recovery Housing for Alcohol and Drug Use Disorders: A National Study of Availability, Characteristics, and Factors Associated with Evidence-based Practices (3R01AA027782-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10430298. Licensed CC0.

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