About this Research Topic

Background

Treatment retention and success in addiction medicine are often limited by a number of complex, intertwined factors across the social-ecological model. Recent research has noted the importance of broadening the scope of addiction medicine to include other factors that drive addiction, remission, and relapse. Specifically, these factors include underlying or co-occurring psychological and physical conditions, polysubstance use, and the lived experiences of a stigmatized population. To overcome barriers that silo addiction medicine to the treatment of the physical manifestations of dependence on a ‘primary’ drug focus, a holistic, integrative, and interdisciplinary understanding and management of addiction is necessary to mitigate the burden addiction places on society.

The aim of this Research Topic is to provide a platform for quality research that focuses on a broader understanding of addiction medicine. The goal is to present information that can inform clinicians, organizations, and systems, and aid in the development of interdisciplinary addiction management that underscores the importance of crosscutting or underlying factors in achieving successful treatment outcomes.

Potential topics could include:

• Epidemiological presentation of substance use or and other addictive disorders alongside comorbid conditions, polysubstance use, environmental conditions, or other underlying drivers of addiction
• Clinical evidence of interdisciplinary management of addiction
• Clinical evidence of addiction medicine that integrates care or care coordination through other specialties or services
• Qualitative data on the lived experiences of individuals living with addiction or in treatment that may describe underlying motivations or unmet needs
• Novel or innovative methods of identifying underlying motivations or unmet needs of those living with addiction or in treatment for a substance use disorder
• Pre-clinical or clinical evidence of the treatment or management of polysubstance use or co-morbid psychological or physical conditions

Keywords: addiction, polysubstance abuse, substance use treatment, interdisciplinary care

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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