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. 2023 Aug 6:8:100183.
doi: 10.1016/j.dadr.2023.100183. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Towards shortening the Brief Addiction Monitor-Revised (BAM-R)

Brittany E Blanchard  1 , Kevin G Lynch  2 , Carol A Malte  3 , Eric J Hawkins  1   3 , Dominick DePhilippis  4   5 , David W Oslin  4   6 , James R McKay  4   7 , Andrew J Saxon  1   3
Affiliations

Towards shortening the Brief Addiction Monitor-Revised (BAM-R)

Brittany E Blanchard et al. Drug Alcohol Depend Rep. .

Abstract

Introduction: The Brief Addiction Monitor-Revised (BAM-R) is a widely used, 17-item assessment of substance use, risk, and protective factors associated with recovery from substance use disorders. Despite wide adoption in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and recommendations for use in measurement-based care (MBC), administration may not be feasible in many MBC settings due to time constraints. The purpose of this study was to derive a shortened version of the BAM-R for use in fast-paced healthcare settings.

Methods: BAM-R data from 32,002 Veterans were obtained through the VA's Corporate Data Warehouse. We used logistic regression models to identify items for removal based on prediction of two clinical outcomes (90-day substance use disorder (SUD) treatment retention and 12-month mortality) and item-level sensitivity to change during substance use treatment.

Results: Although no intake BAM-R items predicted SUD treatment retention or mortality, effect sizes for item-level sensitivity to change during substance use treatment varied from small to large. Seven items were judged as relevant for MBC of SUD. Among all BAM-R items, Heavy Alcohol Use, Self-Help, Drug Use, Craving, and Mood items demonstrated the greatest magnitude of sensitivity to change.

Conclusions: Although additional research is recommended before a shortened BAM-R can be implemented in non-specialty MBC settings, we identified 5 BAM-R items with perceived clinical utility and scores that demonstrated evidence of sensitivity to change. Shortening the BAM-R increases feasibility of use, though more work is needed to optimize measurement for SUD MBC.

Keywords: Brief Addiction Monitor-Revised (BAM-R); Measurement-based care; Substance use disorders; Veterans.

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Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors have any conflicts of interest to report. The views expressed in this article are those of these authors only and do not reflect the position or policies of any of the affiliated agencies.

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