Peer Recovery Support for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Retention
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Peer Support.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Opioid Use Disorder, Peer Recovery Supporters, Peer Recovery Coaching, Primary Care. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- United States
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Reducing OUD Treatment Dropout: Development and Pilot Test of a Peer Recovery Support Intervention in Primary Care
Overview
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether adding peer recovery support services to standard opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment in primary care helps patients stay in treatment longer. The main question it seeks to answer is whether it is feasible to deliver a peer recovery support intervention alongside medication-assisted treatment (buprenorphine) in a Philadelphia primary care clinic. Participants will receive standard OUD treatment (buprenorphine) combined with peer recovery support services for 180 days. They will attend study visits at baseline, weekly for the first 2 weeks, then every 2 weeks, then monthly, and complete assessments about substance use, medication adherence, self-efficacy, resilience, and coping. Participants will also take part in brief periodic interviews about their experience with peer support.
Detailed description
Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a chronic, relapsing condition associated with substantial morbidity, mortality, and social burden. Buprenorphine, delivered in primary care settings, is an evidence-based treatment for OUD, yet treatment dropout remains a critical barrier to recovery. Many patients disengage during the early weeks following induction, before buprenorphine has had the opportunity to stabilize their condition. Peer recovery support (PRS) services, provided by individuals with lived experience of addiction and recovery, represent a promising strategy to improve retention, but the evidence base for optimized peer interventions in primary care OUD treatment remains limited.
The peer intervention evaluated in this study was developed through a systematic optimization process conducted in partnership with OUD, peer, and implementation experts, with extensive input from patients, practitioners, and community stakeholders. Intervention design drew on surveys and qualitative studies of Philadelphia-region OUD treatment programs with existing peer support services, as well as best practices from community health worker models in other chronic disease settings. Component elements, including peer qualifications, supervision structure, training curriculum, caseload size, scope of services, and care team integration, were systematically evaluated and refined prior to the pilot.
The resulting intervention is organized around five core structural elements: (1) clinically integrated supervision with structured case review; (2) standardized recruitment and hiring practices emphasizing empathy, problem-solving capacity, and community engagement; (3) a competency-based training curriculum covering psychosocial support, crisis response, stigma, interprofessional ethics, social determinants of health, and system navigation; (4) stage-tailored peer-patient contact, with intensive engagement during the high-dropout early induction period transitioning to stabilization-focused support as treatment progresses; and (5) active peer wellness practices to mitigate compassion fatigue and burnout.
This pilot study will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and operational implementation of the intervention within primary care-based buprenorphine treatment programs and generate data to inform a future randomized controlled trial.
Interventions
- Behavioral Peer Support
Peer recovery support services delivered by trained, certified peers with lived experience of opioid use disorder, added to standard medication-assisted treatment (buprenorphine) in a primary care setting. Peer services are structured around three stages of OUD treatment (initial engagement, early treatment, and stable treatment) with contact intensity tailored to dropout risk at each stage (approximately 2 contact hours/week during initial engagement). Contact modalities include in-office meeti
Primary outcome measures
- OUD treatment retention [Time frame: 180 days]
Secondary outcome measures (4)
- Self-report opioid use [Time frame: 180 days]
- Buprenorphine adherence [Time frame: 180 days]
- Resilience, coping, and self-efficacy [Time frame: 180 days]
- Opioid urine drug screen positivity [Time frame: 180 days]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Age 18 years or older
- Diagnosis of opioid use disorder (OUD)
- Currently receiving or initiating buprenorphine treatment from a primary care physician
- Able to communicate in English
- Access to a phone
- Able and willing to provide written informed consent
Exclusion criteria
- Acute suicidal ideation or intent
- Active mania or psychotic episode
- Significant cognitive impairment
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Allocation
- N/A
- Model
- Single group
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
Study locations
United States · 1 center
- Penn Family Medicine — Philadelphia
Publications
- Bao Y, Zhang H, Hutchings K, Harris RA, Calderbank T, Schackman BR. Medicaid-Covered Peer Support Services Used by Enrollees With Opioid Use Disorder. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Jul 1;7(7):e2420737. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.20737. PMID 38980680
- Harris RA, Campbell K, Calderbank T, Dooley P, Aspero H, Maginnis J, O'Donnell N, Coviello D, French R, Bao Y, Mandell DS, Bogner HR, Lowenstein M. Integrating peer support services into primary care-based OUD treatment: Lessons from the Penn integrated model. Healthc (Amst). 2022 Sep;10(3):100641. doi: 10.1016/j.hjdsi.2022.100641. Epub 2022 Jul 2. PMID 35785613
- Harris RA, Mandell DS, Kampman KM, Bao Y, Campbell K, Cidav Z, Coviello DM, French R, Livesey C, Lowenstein M, Lynch KG, McKay JR, Oslin DW, Wolk CB, Bogner HR. Collaborative care in the treatment of opioid use disorder and mental health conditions in primary care: A clinical study protocol. Contemp Clin Trials. 2021 Apr;103:106325. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2021.106325. Epub 2021 Feb 22. PMID 33631356
- Harris RA, Kearney M, Keddem S, Calderbank T, Tomczuk L, Clapp J, Perrone J, Kranzler HR, Long JA, Mandell DS. Organization of primary care and early MOUD discontinuation. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2024 Dec 19;19(1):96. doi: 10.1186/s13722-024-00527-w. PMID 39702538
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07620171 · 858768 · K23DA054157