# Racial and ethnic disparities in alcohol and other drug use disorder recovery

> **NIH NIH F32** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2020 · $74,130

## Abstract

(F.220) 7. Project Summary
Racial/ethnic health disparities have been well-documented in the onset, rate, course, and consequences of
alcohol and other drug (AOD) use problems, often with substantially poorer outcomes in non-White
racial/ethnic groups compared to non-Hispanic Whites. As a result, the NIAAA has made it a central strategic
aim to investigate and eliminate health disparities. Despite 30 years of research documenting the presence of
AOD-related racial/ethnic health disparities, the degree to which disparities negatively impact the emerging
standard of assessing the effectiveness of AOD treatments (i.e., ≥ 5 years AOD problem resolution),53 which is
also when risk of problematic use is no higher than in the general population,84 is unknown. Publicly available
datasets are very limited by their ability to directly measure AOD recovery-related constructs and national
prevalence rates of non-White racial/ethnic groups who have achieved long-term problem resolution. In turn,
this compromises our ability to assess the extent to which racial/ethnic health equality exists in terms of long-
term AOD problem resolution and the recovery-related mechanisms associated with potential disparities. To
begin to fill this knowledge gap, we propose to conduct secondary data analyses of the first recovery-focused
nationally representative probability-based study to test if racial/ethnic health disparities exist. The National
Recovery Study (PI: Kelly) consists of a web-based probability sampling frame of 39,809 adults who were
screened to identify if they once had a problem with drugs or alcohol and no longer do. Complete data on
2,002 participants who answered “yes” is available. Participants were assessed with a battery of quantitative
and qualitative survey items in 2016 which captured their AOD clinical history and recovery-related
mechanisms associated racial/ethnic health equality in AOD problem resolution. This design will enable us to
address the following aims: 1a. Test if racial/ethnic health disparities exist in (i) the duration between onset of
alcohol and other drug problems and onset of problem resolution; and, (ii) the likelihood of achieving long-term
problem resolution (≥ 5 years) 1b. If health disparities are observed, explore the mediating potential of
psychosocial (accrued recovery capital, degree of treatment utilization, degree of recovery support-service
utilization) and structural recovery-related factors (health insurance coverage, socioeconomic status, and
recovery-related discrimination) in explaining observed disparities. 2. Conduct concurrent qualitative analysis
to identify the top three strategies that participants report having used to resolve their alcohol or other drug
problem (e.g., social support, secure accommodations, mental and physical health, financial management,
employment, and recreation) and compare these strategies according to racial/ethnic characteristics. Mix the
qualitative and quantitative data to deter...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9765118
- **Project number:** 5F32AA025823-03
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Corrie Lynn Vilsaint
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $74,130
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-30 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9765118

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9765118, Racial and ethnic disparities in alcohol and other drug use disorder recovery (5F32AA025823-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9765118. Licensed CC0.

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