U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Overview
In 2018, with support from the administration and the U.S. Congress, NIH launched the Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative®, to provide scientific solutions to the opioid crisis and offer new hope for individuals, families, and communities affected by this devastating crisis. HEAL is a highly collaborative effort that involves close input from NIH program staff and leadership.
Publications and Data: Results of NIH HEAL Research
The concept of open science — ensuring the accessibility of published research to all stakeholders — is a top HEAL priority. All HEAL data must be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR), and the initiative requires all funded researchers to make their HEAL-funded research publications freely accessible to the public immediately.
Research Programs by Focus Area
The HEAL Research Plan resulted from a 1-year consultative effort between NIH and stakeholders. The initiative developed research focus areas that reflect urgent unmet needs across the lifespan, areas of scientific promise, and concrete strategies capable of providing rapid and durable solutions to the opioid crisis.
Translation of Research to Practice for the Treatment of Opioid Addiction
HEAL research aims to expand access to evidence-based treatments in the justice system, diverse communities across the country, recovery organizations, and Indigenous populations. HEAL also funds research on harm reduction, polysubstance use, behavioral interventions, and infectious complications from drug use.
- Behavioral Research to Improve Medication-Based Treatment
- The Continuum of Care in Hospitalized Patients with Opioid Use Disorder and Infectious Complications of Drug Use
- Enhancing the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network to Address Opioids
- Harm Reduction Approaches to Reduce Overdose Deaths
- HEALing Communities Study
- Improving Delivery of Healthcare Services for Polysubstance Use
- Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network
- Native Collective Research Effort to Enhance Wellness (N CREW) Program: Addressing Overdose, Substance Use, Mental Health, and Pain
- Optimizing the Quality, Reach, and Impact of Addiction Services
- Recovery Research Networks
New Strategies to Prevent and Treat Opioid Addiction
HEAL prevention research serves the needs of populations at risk for opioid use disorder including youth, Indigenous communities, and people with co-occurring health conditions such as mental illness. HEAL also funds basic, translational, and clinical research on sleep and circadian rhythms relevant to addiction and health.
- Collaborative Care for Polysubstance use in Primary Care Settings (Co-Care)
- Optimizing Care for People with Opioid Use Disorder and Mental Health Conditions
- Optimizing the Duration, Retention, and Discontinuation of Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
- Preventing Opioid Use Disorder
- Prevention of Progression to Moderate or Severe Opioid Use Disorder
- Sleep Dysfunction as a Core Feature of Opioid Use Disorder and Recovery
Enhanced Outcomes for Infants and Children Exposed to Opioids
HEAL research addresses the medical and social needs of individuals across the lifespan, including infants, children, and pregnant women. The initiative supports research to inform clinical care for infants diagnosed with opioid withdrawal syndrome and is monitoring the health effects of early exposure to opioids, other substances, and life experiences.
Novel Therapeutic Options for Opioid Use Disorder and Overdose
HEAL research expands treatment options for people who use drugs by developing new versions of effective medications and novel immunotherapies for opioids and other drugs. The initiative also supports research to scan for emerging opioid threats as well as to better understand and manage oral complications from medications for opioid use disorder.
Clinical Research in Pain Management
Safe, effective, and equitable pain management is a key goal for HEAL. The initiative funds research in healthcare settings and rural regions – as well as on specific conditions such as back pain, co-occurring substance use disorders, and pain related to end-stage kidney disease. HEAL also funds research to improve the ability to test new pain treatments in clinical trials.
- Acute to Chronic Pain Signatures Program
- Advancing Health Equity in Pain Management
- Back Pain Consortium Research Program
- Discovery and Validation of Biomarkers, Endpoints and Signatures for Pain Conditions
- Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net)
- Integrated Approach to Pain and Opioid Use in Hemodialysis Patients
- Pain Management Effectiveness Research Network
- Pragmatic and Implementation Studies for the Management of Pain to Reduce Opioid Prescribing (PRISM)
- Prevention and Management of Chronic Pain in Rural Populations
- Reducing Opioid-Related Harms to Treat Chronic Pain (IMPOWR and MIRHIQL)
Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management
HEAL research aims to encourage industry interest in developing new pain medications. This research funds individual scientists and teams to search for new targets as well as test and optimize potential new medications. The initiative also develops various technologies for pain management and provides research tools that mimic human biology and body joints commonly involved in pain.
- Development and Optimization of Non-Addictive Therapies to Treat Pain
- Discovery and Validation of Novel Targets for Safe and Effective Treatment of Pain
- Integrated Basic and Clinical Team-Based Research in Pain
- Preclinical Screening Platform for Pain
- Restoring Joint Health and Function to Reduce Pain Consortium (RE-JOIN)
- Translating Discoveries into Effective Devices to Treat Pain
- Translational Research to Advance Testing of Novel Drugs and Human Cell-Based Screening Platforms to Treat Pain and Opioid Use Disorder
Cross-Cutting Research
HEAL supports research cutting across multiple scientific disciplines, including data science, research on approaches to combat stigma, workforce development, and patient and community engagement efforts. The HEAL small business program supports research to harness innovation across the country.
Training the Next Generation of Researchers in HEAL
A diverse, dedicated, and sustainable research workforce is needed to address the evolving opioid and pain public health challenges. System-wide barriers limit the availability of scientists and clinicians to understand, treat, and prevent complex conditions like chronic pain, opioid use disorder, and overdose – and, increasingly, the common use of multiple drugs.
