A Systematic Scoping Review of Research on Black Participants in the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network

Black individuals experience a disproportionate burden of substance-related disabilities and premature death relative to other racial/ethnic groups, highlighting the need for additional research. The National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN). a research platform for multisite behavioral. pharmacological, and integrated trials designed to evaluate the effectiveness of substance use treatments in community settings with diversified patient populations, provides a wealth of research knowledge on substance use. Although CTN trials have enrolled over 5,000 Black individuals since its inception in 2000, there has been no synthesis of the findings, discussion of the implications, or suggestions for future research for Black individuals. Members of the Minority Interest Group of the CTN conducted a scoping review of published research on Black participants in CTN trials. Studies were included if the sample was more than 75% Black and/or specific findings pertaining to Black participants were reported. The review yielded 50 articles, with studies that mostly focused on baseline characteristics, followed by substance use treatment outcomes, HIV/risky sex behaviors, retention. comorbid conditions and measurement issues. This review highlighted the importance of several issues that are critical to understanding and treating substance misuse among Black people, such as the characteristics of Black people entering treatment. measurement equivalence, and engaging/retaining adolescents and young adults in treatment. There is still a continued need to identify the most effective treatments for Black individuals who use substances. The CTN offers several untapped opportunities to further advance research on Black individuals who use substances (e.g., secondary analyses of publicly available data).