Re-imagining Recovery: a Scoping Review and Qualitative Needs Assessment of “recovery” Among Youth and Caregivers
Tracks
Ballroom 2
| Tuesday, May 13, 2025 |
| 2:15 PM - 2:45 PM |
Overview
Cameron Eekhoudt, BC Centre on Substance Use
Speaker
Mr Cameron Eekhoudt
PhD Candidate
BC Centre on Substance Use
Re-imagining recovery: A scoping review and qualitative needs assessment of “recovery” among youth and caregivers
Abstract
Background: Despite extensive literature exploring the harms associated with substance use disorders, the concept of “recovery” among young people who use(d) drugs (YPWUD) and their caregivers has received significantly less attention. Addressing this literature gap can inform efforts to better support YPWUD as they pursue recovery.
Objective: To examine the qualitative literature on and lived experiences of “recovery” and other restorative pursuits among YPWUD (< 30 years of age) and caregivers, including how the continuum of substance use care is implicated in these processes.
Methods: Design for the scoping review was guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and Levac et al. refinements. We surveyed five bibliographic databases for peer-reviewed, English-written empirical studies published between 1999 and 2023. Studies were independently reviewed for inclusion by two reviewers. We charted, synthesized, and assessed the studies for common themes. Subsequent qualitative needs assessments were conducted to assess how this literature aligns with the lived experiences of 30 eligible youth and 15 caregivers across British Columbia and identify potential gaps.
Findings: A total of 28 articles met the inclusion criteria and are presented in the scoping review. Studies highlight a range of definitions and enactments of recovery as part of a continuum of substance use care, which frequently extend beyond the notion of recovery as abstinence. Caregivers can be particularly pivotal to recovery processes; however, the challenges of supporting a young person’s recovery are manifold. These results, further contextualized by conversations with YPWUD and caregivers across BC, provide tailored recommendations for supporting recovery among this population.
Conclusion: Findings underscore the need for recovery services and programs that are aligned with young people’s shifting needs, goals, desires, and social contexts. Recovery programs must range from harm reduction to abstinence-based approaches across institutional and non-institutional settings and actively engage YPWUD and their caregivers in recovery planning.
Objective: To examine the qualitative literature on and lived experiences of “recovery” and other restorative pursuits among YPWUD (< 30 years of age) and caregivers, including how the continuum of substance use care is implicated in these processes.
Methods: Design for the scoping review was guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and Levac et al. refinements. We surveyed five bibliographic databases for peer-reviewed, English-written empirical studies published between 1999 and 2023. Studies were independently reviewed for inclusion by two reviewers. We charted, synthesized, and assessed the studies for common themes. Subsequent qualitative needs assessments were conducted to assess how this literature aligns with the lived experiences of 30 eligible youth and 15 caregivers across British Columbia and identify potential gaps.
Findings: A total of 28 articles met the inclusion criteria and are presented in the scoping review. Studies highlight a range of definitions and enactments of recovery as part of a continuum of substance use care, which frequently extend beyond the notion of recovery as abstinence. Caregivers can be particularly pivotal to recovery processes; however, the challenges of supporting a young person’s recovery are manifold. These results, further contextualized by conversations with YPWUD and caregivers across BC, provide tailored recommendations for supporting recovery among this population.
Conclusion: Findings underscore the need for recovery services and programs that are aligned with young people’s shifting needs, goals, desires, and social contexts. Recovery programs must range from harm reduction to abstinence-based approaches across institutional and non-institutional settings and actively engage YPWUD and their caregivers in recovery planning.
Biography
Cameron Eekhoudt (he/him) is a PhD Candidate and Research Coordinator in the Department of Experimental Medicine at the University of British Columbia. His research uses qualitative and community-based participatory action research methods to exmaine how young people and caregivers understand and pursue "recovery" in the context of past and ongoing illicit substance use.
