Perceived Barriers to Research among Substance Use Treatment Providers

To help understand substance use treatment providers' attitudes about research, 164 providers completed surveys about experiences with research, perceived barriers, and training needs. Providers tended to consider their agencies' lack of research expertise to be less of a barrier to research than their agencies' focusing on clinical work rather than research. Providers with good or neutral research experience were less likely than others to consider agency's lack of research focus a barrier. However, only providers with good research experience were less likely than others to consider agency's clinical focus a barrier to research. Providers with bad research experience were the least interested in getting further research training. Implications for research are discussed.