Part 1
In searching for scholarly literature, I found that searching under well known journals was helpful to get credible information right away. Going the Google route brought up many articles mostly of a news nature and not scholarly literature. There is a lot in the news right now regarding opioids and overdose but not too much on treatment.
Part 2
The authors and their credentials are as follows; Dr. Sarah Wakeman M.D., is the Medical Director, Substance Use Disorder Initiative, Program Director, Addiction Medicine Fellowship and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard University; Dr. Michael Barnett, M.D., assistant professor at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. They are very credible authors.
The article was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, July 5, 2018. It was a perspective, not a full research study. This journal is one of the highest for credibility. The article is only 3 months old.
The intentions of the authors were to inform physicians in primary care of the myths and realities of treating opioid use disorder and the treatment options. The intended audience is family physicians.
The New England Journal of Medicine published the article in July 2018. All articles in this journal are peer reviewed before they can be published.
The authors both work in the addiction medicine field. They are fully aware on many practical levels of the ongoing crisis and difficulty in patients finding treatment. They are very credible specialists that were advocating for family physicians to start treating addiction in their practices to help open access to treatment. The article is very practical discussing the realities, myths and possible policy responses as well. It is well written. Although they are American, the issues are very similar in Canada right now. The practical medical advice would transfer for use here.
Wakeman, S. E., & Barnett, M. L., (2018) Primary Care and the Opioid-Overdose Crises – Buprenorphine Myths and Realities, New England Journal of Medicine, July 2018, 379;1 file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/NEJMp1802741%20Primary%20Care%20Treatment.pdf
Part C
I will use many different sources of information. For the introduction I will look up some of the statistics from Canadian government sources such as provincial health reports of overdoses. I will look up published guidelines of how and where opioids should be used. I will find articles on how many patients go through emergency departments. I will try and contact the RAAM clinics individually to get up to date statistics.
When reading some of the research it will be important to understand who and where the research has come from. There are many philosophical ideas about treatment of addiction. It is an area that is just starting to apply evidence-based treatment instead of what was done in the past. It is a huge shift. I have been involved in the addiction medicine realm for some time and know most of the key opinion leaders. I am aware of the centers that do research and the high-level journals. Hopefully that will be useful.
Do you think that research of a medical nature can be applied to the Canadian landscape even if it was carried out in another country?
Great question Charlie Mable!
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think you are asking about transferability or replication of study results from one context to another. Transferability allows readers the option of applying the results of a study to different contexts and I think that it depends on what results you are trying to apply. Like Edenguessi mentions above studying the effects of caffeine on the human brain in one country and replicating the study in another would likely yield similar results (if not, then be skeptical). If you were trying to examine the effects of a medical treatment that was only available in one country (let’s say because it is legal in one and not the other) then it would be difficult to transfer or replicate the results of the study in the other country – because it is not legal. This is why it is very important to critically examine the methods and results of a study to determine:
Who were the participants? – were they randomly selected/assigned to groups?
What interventions took place?
What measurement tools were used to evaluate the outcome?
What was the outcome?
By closely examining these questions, you will be able to determine if the results will apply or transfer into another context.
Have a great week!
Dr. Strong
Hi Charlie,
In the research world external validity stands for the reproduction of a study into a context different to the original expecting to find the same result. It would make sense to have a study about the effect of caffeine on human brain done in Angola, Central Africa being conducted in Canada. Now if the results are different, I think the application of this study into the Canadian context should be questionned.