Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

"Background.: Managed Alcohol Programs (MAPs) are a harm reduction strategy designed for populations with severe alcohol use disorders in unstable housing. Though MAPs are effective at stabilizing alcohol consumption patterns and at reducing alcohol-related harms, there are concerns associated with continuous, daily alcohol administration. Thus, researchers are interested in the efficacy of cannabis substitution (CS) for alcohol in the context of MAPs. The proposed research will inform the development of a clinical trial of CS for alcohol in MAPs. The purpose of the proposed research is to assess patterns of alcohol, cannabis, and other substance use in MAP participants, and to explore how these patterns are associated with harms across different domains. Understanding how cannabis use patterns change during MAP participation will provide critical insight into the potential of CS in MAPs, thus leading to improved harm reduction initiatives for this vulnerable population. Objectives.: (1) To compare patterns of change in alcohol, cannabis, and other substance use of MAP participants and controls; (2) To differentiate groups based on patterns of alcohol, cannabis, and other substance use (using latent class growth analysis); (3) To examine the associations between group membership and harms (using linear regression); (4) To inform the development of a clinical trial. Methods.: Analysis will be conducted using data collected from MAP participants and controls with severe alcohol use disorders in unstable housing. Objectives 1 and 2 will examine participants' substance use data. Objective 3 will examine harms across several domains: housing stability and satisfaction, alcohol-related harms, and quality of life. Objective 4 will use the results to inform a clinical trial."