Les usagers et la recherche en alcoologie. Innovation de la recherche communautaire

Background: the objective of this article is to describe the methodology of a research collaboration based on a community approach. This action brings together consumer experts from six support groups for persons with alcohol use disorder, a medical research team (Inserm) and a university research laboratory in psychology. The overarching hypothesis was that support groups would overcome feelings of loneliness through shared interpersonal values. Methods and results: the design phase will describe the implication of the transmission (representatives from support groups who sit on the steering committee) in this research. The implementation phase will describe the creation of a national helper network comprised of support group members. The results section will show data at one-year follow up. Discussion: we will discuss the impact of group dynamics on adherence to research. In closing, we will describe the communication of advances in various internal and external research phases necessary to better coordinate and improve protocols. Community-based support groups may present real potential in the field of alcohol research.