Reducing Overdose and Substance Use-related Stigma by Training Non-substance-using Friends and Family Members of People Who Use Opioids to Be Harm Reduction Champions

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · Feb 6, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is focused on reducing stigma and improving access to support for people who use opioids, particularly older adults living on the West side of Chicago. The study aims to train non-substance-using friends and family members to become "Harm Reduction Champions." These champions will learn about harm reduction tools and services that can help their loved ones who use opioids. The goal is to create open conversations about substance use, reduce stigma, and provide practical support, including education on overdose prevention and distribution of naloxone (a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose).

To participate, non-substance-using individuals must be at least 18 years old, live in Chicago, and know someone who currently uses opioids. They should be willing to learn how to support that person. People who use opioids can also join if they live on the West side of Chicago, have used opioids recently, and are open to being supported by their friends or family members. Participants can expect to take part in training sessions, discussions about overdose risks, and receive harm reduction tools like naloxone. The study will help measure if this approach increases the use of harm reduction services, decreases overdose incidents, and lessens the stigma surrounding substance use.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• • Eligibility Criteria for Non-PWUD (i.e., people who do not use drugs) Peer Intervention Participants, to Be Trained as Harm Reduction Support Champions. 1) Non-PWUD peers recruited directly to the study (i.e., not by a PWUD peer partner) will be eligible to participate in the intervention arm of the study if they live in Chicago, know someone at least 18 years of age who lives on the West side of Chicago who currently uses opioids (to the best of their knowledge), state that they are interested in learning how to offer social support and practical support to that person, report that they have not used "hard" drugs (drugs other than alcohol or marijuana) recreationally in the last year, are at least 18 years of age, and state that they and the person they want to support are able to be interviewed in English and/or Spanish. 2) Non-PWUD peers recruited to the intervention arm of the study by a study participant they know who uses drugs will be eligible to participate in the intervention if they live in Chicago, report that they have not used "hard" drugs (drugs other than alcohol or marijuana) recreationally in the last year, state that they are willing to learn how to support their peer who uses drugs, are at least 18 years old, and are able to be interviewed in English and/or Spanish.
• • Eligibility Criteria for PWUD Intervention Participants (i.e., intervention participants who use drugs). 1) People who use drugs (PWUD) recruited directly to the intervention arm of the study (i.e., not by a non-PWUD peer partner) by West Side Heroin and Opioid Task Force or snowball sampling will be eligible to participate in the intervention if they live on the West side of Chicago, report that they currently use opioids (i.e., in the last week), know at least one person living in Chicago who has not used opioids in the last year and who they are willing to try to recruit to the study as someone who might be willing to offer them harm reduction support, are at least 18 years old, and are able to be interviewed in English and/or Spanish. 2) PWUD recruited to the intervention arm of the study by their non-PWUD peers who are enrolled in the study will be eligible to participate in the intervention group if they live in Chicago, have a study recruitment coupon from a non-PWUD participant, report that they currently use opioids (i.e., in the last week), state that they are willing to learn how their peer might be able to support them, are at least 18 years of age, and are able to be interviewed in English and/or Spanish.
• • Eligibility Criteria for Non-equivalent Comparison Group Participants. Comparison group participants will be eligible to participate in the comparison arm of the study if they report currently using opioids (i.e., in the last week), have accessed harm reduction services from one of the study's community partners (Community Outreach Intervention Projects; or West Side Heroin and Opioid Task Force) in the last six months, are at least 18 years old, and are able to speak English and/or Spanish. These individuals who are recruited to the comparison group will not be eligible to participate in the intervention unless they are given a recruitment coupon by a non-PWUD peer.