HEAL Initiative: Research to Increase Implementation of Substance Use Preventive Services (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)

The HEAL Initiative is seeking research proposals to enhance the implementation of preventative services for substance misuse. The Initiative underlines the paramount importance of prevention in tackling the ongoing opioid crisis. By identifying and putting into action, potent methods to prevent the onset of opioid misuse, disorders can be mitigated in turn, reducing the eventual need for treatment. This approach proves beneficial at individual, societal, and financial levels.

Statistics from 2020 indicate that approximately 9.5 million people, aged 12 or older, had misused opioids within that year, underlining the urgent need for effective preventive measures. Current HEAL-funded studies are probing whether existing programs aimed at non-opioid substance misuse disorders could be applicable to opioids.

However, there are persisting knowledge gaps regarding how to appropriately deploy these prevention services. Often, effective strategies do not see wider adoption, implementation, or scaling - that ultimately curtails their reach and impact.

There is a recognized critical need to fund research that will devise innovative strategies for the effective implementation and maintenance of prevention services. These services should not only be cost-effective but also practical, sustainable, and co-designed with the end-users for maximum potency. To address these identified gaps, the HEAL Initiative proposes an investigator-initiated research strategy, with multiple submission dates through a Request for Applications (RFA).

This research will concentrate on solutions for implementing and sustaining prevention services comprehensively and developing an infrastructure dedicated to prevention.