Harm Reduction Approaches to Reduce Overdose Deaths

Overview

The Research Need

Harm reduction approaches connect people who use drugs with the services and resources they want and need, including protection against overdoses and infectious diseases like HIV, hepatitis C, and associated health problems. It is a major focus toward saving lives in the evolving opioid crisis. In 2021, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy prioritized harm reduction as one of the pillars of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Overdose Prevention Strategy. Research is needed toward identifying ways to enhance access to harm reduction services as well as to measure their effectiveness.

About the Program

This program will establish a national network of research projects that aim to study and improve the effectiveness, implementation, and impact of existing and new harm reduction policies and practices. Research supported by this program will be conducted in real-world settings and in collaboration with a diverse range of stakeholders, who will help to ensure that the strategies being studied are sustainable and scalable. A single coordinating center will support the research projects by streamlining communication across the network, providing support related to data methodology, engaging community stakeholders about all network activities, and translating research findings so they can be used by researchers, practitioners, and communities.

Open Funding Opportunities

There are no Open Funding Opportunities at this time.

Program Details

To date, through the Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative®, NIH has funded 10 awards for this program, totaling $19.7 million.

Research Examples

Research examples supported by this program include:

  • Developing and testing novel harm reduction approaches in both urban and rural settings.
  • Evaluating novel settings for delivering harm reduction services and approaches that do not require face-to-face interactions.
  • Exploring and addressing individual and system-level barriers to accessing effective, scalable, and sustainable harm reduction services.
  • Examining strategies for reaching vulnerable, understudied, and hard-to-reach populations who need harm reduction services.
  • Assessing the effectiveness of harm reduction strategies for individuals who use methamphetamine and other stimulants.

2022
Implementing and Evaluating the Impact of Novel Mobile Harm Reduction Services on Overdose Among Women who use Drugs: The SHOUT Study
Sep 20, 2022
2022
Expansion of Mail-Delivered Harm Reduction Services in the U.S.
Sep 20, 2022
2022
Teaching Harm Reduction in Vulnerable Environments (THRIVE): A Peer-Led Intervention Bridging Acute Care Settings and the Discharge to the Community
Sep 20, 2022
2022
Assessing the Reach, Effectiveness, and Implementation of Multiple Harm Reduction Interventions
Sep 20, 2022
2022
A Network-Based, Mixed Methods Study to Identify and Support Multiple Overdose Responders and Inform Overdose Prevention Interventions
Sep 20, 2022

Participating NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices