Federal Grant Award Summary

Brown University received a $159,500 Project Grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), awarded May 15, 2026, with a completion date of April 30, 2028. The award supports a pilot study investigating how drug use network characteristics influence engagement with overdose prevention programs (OPPs) among people who use unregulated drugs in Rhode Island. The research addresses a significant knowledge gap by examining social network effects on program utilization, moving beyond prior studies that focused solely on individual-level predictors. The study will enroll 100 participants and employ structured egocentric network methods to assess the relationship between drug use network features and OPP engagement.

This research is nested within an ongoing evaluation of Rhode Island's first overdose prevention program and directly supports NIDA's mission to develop new knowledge and approaches for overdose prevention and harm reduction. Given the evolving composition of unregulated drug supplies—increasingly containing fentanyl, non-opioid sedatives, and local anesthetics—the project contributes critical evidence to inform implementation of comprehensive OPP models that integrate overdose risk reduction services, naloxone provision, infectious disease testing, and wraparound social support services. Research findings will inform evidence-based strategies to maximize engagement with life-saving overdose prevention interventions.