In fall 2022, thirty-one addiction treatment providers from Western Pennsylvania completed a survey on attitides toward addiction recovery resources. The survey contained twenty-one questions ranking various types of recovery support, as well as open-ended feedback to elaborate on their responses. Initial questions asked participants to evaluate their familiarity with seven types of recovery resources, on a 1-5 scale (1=“not at all”, 3="somewhat", 5=“very much”). Average scores of these evaluations are depicted below, with "in-person recovery group meetings" being most familiar and "mobile recovery apps with peer engagement" being the least familiar to respondents:
We also asked about helpfulness of each of these resources in recovery. "Online recovery forums, discussion groups, or chat rooms" was ranked in the middle of the data nearing the “very much” category. On average, responses didn't go below the “somewhat” interval. Open-ended responses further indicated enthusiasm about diverse recovery resources providing a greater array of options for supporting recovery.
When asking respondents about potential harmfulness of these various resources, only one of the categories surpasses the first interval (i.e., more than "a little bit" on average). In these data, "social media recovery support" had the highest average perceived risk for harm. Online forums, other than on social media, were ranked closely to in-person groups in terms of risk. Open-ended responses mentioned specific harms around getting misleading recovery information or being bullied or taken advantage of online, though responses noted that these could happen in some in-person environments as well.
Online recovery forums, discussion groups, or chat rooms were ranked in the middle of the data with regard to how often they were recommended to clients or peers. In the context of the question, it is understandable that the top three responses were in-person recovery group meetings, video recovery group meetings, and recovery oriented self-help books because they are more traditional/popular forms of treatment. Mobile recovery apps were ranked lowest in terms of recommended use.
When the participants were asked the open ended question “Are there potential benefits to using online forums, discussion boards, or chat rooms for recovery support? Please describe briefly” their responses followed as such:
- I think the benefits are that people can connect with a wider range of individuals that they might not find in their own area to talk with. Also, for individuals with extreme anxiety, the ability to engage in recovery from home is helpful.
- I like this platform for someone who is in the contemplation stage and is seeking information privately before diving into other forms of support.
- Absolutely. Forums and discussion boards provide more opportunities for community building and engagement. Connection with others is key to making people feel supported.
- It allows people to get information immediately."
- Absolutely, support around the clock at any point needed which happens at times when traditional resources are not available.
- Lack barriers to engage. Some people are scared to go into a meeting whereas just jumping on a forum isn't nearly as daunting.
- There are benefits to people who are located in remote areas or may have disabilities that prevent them from being able to attend in person.
We sent out a follow-up survey several months later. Individuals were instructed to review the NEAR-FAR online resources before completing the survey. The goal was to get feedback about NEAR-FAR and to understand if people’s attitudes changed after becoming familiar with the topic and NEAR-FAR. Given the modest response rate (n=7), we were unable to test whether attitudes measurably changed. However, the open ended feedback was informative and has helped us to understand potential benefits and concerns about using online resources in addiction recovery.
On a survey question asking participants “What do you think is the greatest potential benefit of using forums for addiction recovery?” responses followed as such:
- I think it will give people that don't have the opportunity to get to meetings/have extreme anxiety, or don't have a social sober support yet to go with help find recovery. Any form of meeting can stop you from picking up. This could be very helpful.
- Easy access to online forums.
- Reduced barriers and allow folks who are in contemplation stage to engage without fully committing.
- For individuals who lack transportation, online recovery forums can provide support and social connection where there may not be any.
In another survey question we asked about the greatest potential risk of using online forums for addiction recovery. Participants responded with the following:
- Possible to get bad advice but no more so than in person meetings.
- I think it could increase social isolation for those who are already prone to isolation without seeming like isolation.
- Not always monitored and could be very damaging.
This is important feedback to be aware of. While the ability to connect with online communities has potential to be helpful, there are risks of making social isolation worse, or getting bad advice that might go un-corrected in forms that are not well-monitored. As different platforms offer different technological and social affordances to users, it will be important to have access to reputable and well-maintained online resources for recovery support.
In one of the final questions we asked “Do you have any feedback or thoughts about your experience with this research project?” which followed with a participant answering:
- I think this is a great project and will utilize this myself as a professional and a person in recovery. So thank you!
You are most welcome and thank you for providing feedback into the process as we develop the NEAR-FAR online resources! Overall, clinical treatment providers who responded to this survey were optimistic about the idea of online support for addiction recovery. While some important concerns were noted, the benefits weighed more heavily than the risks, especially with respect to affordances that in-person meetings cannot as easily provide (e.g., meetings in remote areas, 24/7 access to information and support). It is important to note that this was a small, non-random survey and that findings do not generalize to broader populations of addiction treatment providers. For example, people may have been more likely to respond to this survey if they were already optimistic about the topic. Findings are provided here for the sake of transparency into the recently completed surveys.