The Project

Project Focus

Partnering with Virginia Rural Health Association, students conducted research on recovery-to-work programming needs and opportunities in Southwest Virginia.

Project Overview and Outcomes

The proposed project is designed to support community partners’ efforts in their recovery-to-work efforts by identifying barriers and potential solutions to those barriers. Supporting recovery-to-work opportunities addresses the clear need for long-term and sustainable solutions to the opioid crisis.

Students worked with VRHA staff and their local partners, including the New River Valley Community Services Board, to identify and prioritize the barriers and opportunities for providing recovery-to-work programs in Southwest Virginia. As part of this process, students conducted key informant interviews. Students received human subjects training as well as sensitivity training. The script for these interviews was developed in collaboration with VRHA and students worked with VRHA and local providers to recruit persons in recovery, current Peer Recovery Support Specialists, and additional stakeholders, to conduct the key informant interviews. Analysis of transcripts from these interviews will be used to refine their evaluation of barriers and opportunities for recovery to work programs in the New River Valley.

Students also critically analyzed published reports of recovery-to-work programs that have been implemented elsewhere. Specifically, groups of students summarized their research on the barriers identified by community partners including:

1. Peer Recovery Support Specialist training,
2. Employer, state and national level policies on drug testing and criminal record requirements and effectiveness of those policies in terms of workplace safety,
3. Transportation and housing needs and solutions for those in recovery,
4. Barriers and solutions to receiving substance abuse care via telehealth (Medicaid waiver, broadband service) and
5. Asset mapping to identify key resources and services available to communities in the New River Valley.

As a final deliverable to VRHA, students developed action memos and policy briefs on these topics, to support VRHA advocacy and grant application efforts within the Commonwealth of Virginia and nationally.

Goals and Objectives

The student project will address the following goals of the ARC strategic plan:

Goal 2: Ready Workforce. The research will lead to a better understanding of the barriers to employment for persons in recovery from substance abuse and potential solutions to those barriers based on experiences in other places. Students’ interaction with the New River/Mount Rogers Workforce Development Board will support their proposed work in this area.

Goal 3: Critical Infrastructure. The research will clarify transportation and housing barriers for persons in recovery seeking support services and employment. In addition, barriers to telehealth recovery services, including broadband service, will be assessed.

Goal 5: Leadership and Community Capacity. The students’ research will build the capacity of current leaders and citizens to engage with one another and across multiple sectors to address concerns that affect community development.

Student and Faculty Deliverables:

• Students and faculty attended and participated in the Washington DC conference on December 6-7th, 2019. Students presented their findings and recommendations and actively participated in discussion and questions of other presentations.
• At the ARC conference, students displayed a poster of their project findings.
• Students presented their findings and recommendations to NR/MR Workforce Development Board and/or NRV Regional Commission.
• Students were encouraged to participate in the Virginia Rural Health Association Annual Conference November 20th and 21st , and potentially present preliminary findings and recommendations during the student poster session, and also the March 2020 Appalachian Studies Association conference in Lexington, KY.
• Project director Emily Satterwhite and Instructor Julia Gohlke commited to submitting to the ARC a final report of the project’s findings by May 31, 2020.
• Virginia Tech and the project director commited to using project funds appropriately and within the time period allocated. Virginia Tech IRB approval will be sought for key informant interviews.

In order to focus the research topic, the class consulted the Appalachian Regional Commission’s substance abuse advisory council’s August 2019 recommendations and worked with key partners including the NRV Workforce Development Board and the Virginia Rural Health Association to understand frameworks for supporting recovery to work efforts. They learned that specific barriers to recovery could occur at the individual, community, institutional, and policy levels and that effective and sustained recovery requires integration across these levels within this ecosystem model.

The ARC’s substance abuse advisory council issued 14 recommendations and the class decided to focus on 3 of those including addressing state or county level policies to improve access to recovery resources, forming employer tool-kits, and improving collegiate recovery programs. Based on the specific barriers identified by our local partners, the class wanted to address the policy barriers to improving access to harm reduction programs in the NRV, recommend employer practices that can reduce stigma and improve meaningful employment opportunities for those in recovery, and explore how Virginia Tech can expand their collegiate recovery program to be a leader in building a recovery ready ecosystem in the NRV. 

The students began their research with a comprehensive literature review, first of the opioid epidemic and then narrowing to specific points of focus introduced above. We compiled results from over 30 publications. After completing human subjects training and developing interviewing skills, they advertised and recruited interviewees for the study with the help of our partners. Additional consultations with NRV Community Services Board, Hokie Wellness, and Queer Appalachia assisted in better understanding the local epidemic to prepare for and analyze the interviews. The class recruited 3 groups for interviews; people in recovery, people that work with people in recovery, and employers in the NRV. Students utilized a semi-structured interview style which allowed for flexibility and consistency, while also making the experience comfortable for the interviewees.