Funded Projects

NOFO Title: Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (Parent K01)
NOFO Number: PA-16-190
Summary:

Quality implementation of evidence-based programs (EBPs) in community settings for youth is critical for reducing the burden of alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) use and its consequences. EBPs delivered in schools are an efficient way to reach large populations of young people, including those underserved by other settings, and reduce and prevent ATOD use. Yet youth rarely receive EBPs as intended in community settings, including schools. This training and research plan will prepare the investigator to become an independent scholar in the implementation of theories and frameworks to better understand factors related to program delivery—approaches to enhancing ATOD programs for youth in community settings. More specifically, the training will allow him to expand the application of Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to inform approaches to enhancing effective EBP delivery. The proposed training and research plan extends current implementation research to focus applying implementation theories, frameworks and strategies in other community settings (schools) and on economic evaluation of implementation strategies. The results are expected to improve current efforts to deliver EBPs in diverse community settings and aid in applying evidence-based implementation strategies in the school context to ultimately reduce and prevent ATOD use among youth.

NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Preventing Opioid Misuse and Co-Occurring Conditions by Intervening on Social Determinants (R01 - Clinical Trials Optional)
NOFO Number: RFA-DA-23-051
Summary:

Urban neighborhood deterioration (also known as blight) can affect individual and community health. Interventions have shown positive effects on neighborhood crime, gun violence, and mental health. In Philadelphia, government and community partnerships have remediated vacant lots and abandoned buildings to improve living conditions. This project will investigate the degree to which neighborhood improvement interventions in Philadelphia affect opioid misuse and overdose risk for residents. Results from this research could inform similar public health-based policy and community-level health interventions in other cities.

NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Preventing Opioid Misuse and Co-Occurring Conditions by Intervening on Social Determinants (R01 - Clinical Trials Optional)
NOFO Number: RFA-DA-23-051
Summary:

Non-punishment, support-based preventive interventions in schools are needed to reduce misuse of opioids and other substances among youth. This project will test an intervention to improve school climate by introducing a learning approach that encourages behavior that is supportive and respectful in middle schools. ISLA reduces the use of exclusionary and discipline practices, such as suspensions and expulsions, that can be racially discriminating. The research aims to improve inclusive teaching practices, student engagement, student-teacher relationships, and school climate, while reducing student misuse of opioids and other substances.

NOFO Title: Mechanism for Time-Sensitive Drug Abuse Research (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)
NOFO Number: PAR-19-064
Summary:

In 2018, new opiate prescribing limits (SB 273) were implemented across West Virginia to combat the opiate misuse epidemic. This study will utilize quantitative and qualitative measures to determine the effect of the recent opiate prescription laws in West Virginia, how a change in policy affects the opiate misuse epidemic, and how communities may apply this knowledge more broadly. The research team will: 1) collaborate with the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy to ascertain changes in opiate prescribing habits before and after the start of SB 273 using an interrupted time series methodology, and 2) achieve broad and deep understanding of how SB 273 has affected prescribing practices and experiences amongst primary care physicians, specialists (pan physicians, surgeons, emergency room physicians, etc.), and patients who currently or previously utilized opiate medications.

NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Coordinating Center to Support NIDA Preventing Opioid Use Disorder in Older Adolescents and Young Adults (ages 16–30) Initiative (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: RFA-DA-19-034
Summary:

The Coordinating Center (CC) will provide centralized logistical support and facilitate communication and coordination of activities across the cooperative. The CC will provide scientific leadership, which will include providing scientific expertise in the areas of implementation research and economic evaluation. The CC will establish an infrastructure for cross-site data collection, management, harmonization, and data sharing and provide expert methodological and statistical consultation.

NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Preventing Opioid Use Disorder in Older Adolescents and Young Adults (ages 16–30) (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Required
NOFO Number: RFA-DA-19-035
Summary:

Evidence suggests that homeless youth have the highest rates of opioid use among youth subgroups in the country (Brands et al., 2005). Resolution of youth homelessness through housing and prevention services, often referred to as “Housing First”, has great potential to reduce the likelihood for the development of an opioid use disorder as well as other problem behaviors associated with living on the streets. However, only 20 percent to 30 percent of homeless youth samples report ever having stayed at a crisis shelter, 9 percent report having ever accessed mental health services, and 15 percent report ever having received treatment for substance use disorder (Ray, 2006), indicating a need to reach and engage youth in services that are feasible and acceptable. The results of this study will provide essential information for researchers and providers on the efficacy of housing plus opioid and related risk prevention services in a randomized controlled trial on opioid use, how moderators affect the response, and mechanisms underlying change.

NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Preventing Opioid Use Disorder in Older Adolescents and Young Adults (ages 16–30) (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Required
NOFO Number: RFA-DA-19-035
Summary:

Many states across the country have experienced an increase in children involved in the foster care system because of young parental opioid and methamphetamine use disorders (OUD; MUD). The Families Actively Improving Relationships (FAIR) program is a recently developed, rigorously evaluated, intensive outpatient treatment program for parents involved in the child welfare system for parental OUD and/or MUD. The FAIR effectiveness trial showed the potential for FAIR to be adapted as a prevention program, and to be implemented in counties with low service availability and access. This project will adapt and implement FAIR for prevention in collaboration with Oregon State Department of Human Services (DHS). Across two counties, parents referred by DHS for OUD or MUD with risk for escalation will be recruited and randomized to receive the adapted FAIR as prevention, or standard case management and referral. Outcomes will inform further FAIR refinement and potential broader scale-up.

NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Preventing Opioid Use Disorder in Older Adolescents and Young Adults (ages 16–30) (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Required
NOFO Number: RFA-DA-19-035
Summary:

Data from 2015 show that American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) have the highest rates of diagnosis for opioid use disorder (OUD) and death from drug overdose. Of particular concern is the prevalence in emerging adults (ages 18-25), as this is a developmental period of heightened vulnerability and critical social, neurological, and psychological development. This study will develop and implement a culturally centered intervention to address opioid misuse among urban AI/AN emerging adults in California: POMANAYA (Preventing Opioid Misuse Among Native American Young Adults). POMANAYA will developed by adapting and enhancing our existing culturally sensitive prevention intervention program that uses motivational interviewing in AI/AN youth to address social network factors in emerging adults that amplify (or reduce) opioid and other drug use risk. Results from this study could significantly advance scientific knowledge and clinical practice for AI/AN emerging adults.

NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Preventing Opioid Use Disorder in Older Adolescents and Young Adults (ages 16–30) (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Required
NOFO Number: RFA-DA-19-035
Summary:

Most opioid misuse begins during adolescence and young adulthood. Adolescence is the best time for prevention interventions in settings like school-based health centers (HCs), yet few programs focus on preventing initiation of opioid misuse. This study harnesses the power of video game interventions and incorporates components of effective substance use prevention programs to develop an evidence-informed intervention to prevent the initiation of opioid misuse in adolescents. In partnership with the national School-Based Health Alliance (SBHA), researchers will develop and test a new video game intervention, PlaySmart. It will build on our previous video game intervention that has demonstrated efficacy in improving attitudes and knowledge related to risk behaviors. The study will evaluate the game in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in 10 school-based HCs and examine strategies for implementing PlaySmart in school-based HCs nationally. This research has considerable potential for wide implementation, reach, and impact on high-risk adolescents through school-based HCs.

NOFO Number:
Summary:

The emergency department (ED) is an ideal venue to reach and intervene with adolescents and young adults at risk for opioid misuse, particularly as young adults may disconnect from primary care when transitioning out of pediatric medicine. This study will evaluate the efficacy of interventions of varying type/intensity to prevent/reduce opioid misuse or opioid use disorder (OUD). The research leverages technology that is appealing to youth to facilitate intervention delivery by health coaches. In this study, adolescents and young adults in the ED screening positive for opioid use or misuse will be randomly assigned to one of four intervention conditions with outcomes measured at 4, 8, and 12 months. Technology-driven, scalable interventions delivered via health coach allow for real-time tailoring to the rapidly changing opioid epidemic, with the potential for a sustainable impact on preventing escalation of opioid misuse among adolescents and young adults. While we know that Black/African American youth are at increased risk for opioid and other substance use, they often do not participate in research studies. As a result, we do not know how well prevention interventions work with Black/African American individuals. This supplement will focus on increasing participant diversity and inclusion by recruiting additional Black/African American participants for this ongoing randomized controlled trial to study technology-driven prevention interventions.

NOFO Title: NIDA Research Center of Excellence Grant Program (P50)
NOFO Number: PAR-16-009
Summary:

The U.S. is in the midst of an opioid crisis, and efforts to tackle the complex and dynamic nature of this public health challenge must comprehensively consider a multitude of contributing factors. In response, states have implemented a wide range of policies and initiatives. However, the dynamic nature of the crisis and the speed with which different policy approaches are being implemented pose numerous challenges for researchers evaluating the effects of such efforts. These challenges stem in part from limited information regarding policy implementation; insufficient information about policy characteristics that may influence effectiveness; little consideration of how the chosen analytic method may influence findings, given simultaneous or concurrent implementation of multiple policies; and limited training on how to best communicate findings to policymakers. To address these challenges, the proposed Center for Opioid Policy Research (COPR) will serve as a national resource, fostering innovative and high-quality research in the opioid policy arena and developing and disseminating methods, tools and information to the research community, policymakers and the public.

NOFO Title: Advanced Laboratories for Accelerating the Reach and Impact of Treatments for Youth and Adults with Mental Illness (ALACRITY) Research Centers (P50 Clinical Trial Optional)
NOFO Number: PAR-18-701

NOFO Title: Research Project Grant (Parent R01)
NOFO Number: PA-13-302