Federal Grant Award Summary

Ohio University received a $982,736 Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) effective March 15, 2026, with completion targeted for December 31, 2029. The award funds the Buprenorphine Prescribing Support Program (BPSP) for Rural Primary Care, a community-engaged implementation effectiveness research initiative designed to expand access to buprenorphine treatment in rural primary care settings. The program delivers clinical training on buprenorphine prescribing paired with stigma reduction interventions and long-term peer mentorship support to primary care professionals (PCPs) in rural Ohio and West Virginia. Through a hybrid Type 3 cluster randomized trial involving 40 rural primary care clinics, the research will assess the program's impact on buprenorphine adoption rates, clinical reach, patient retention in care, and remission outcomes for individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD).

The BPSP addresses critical implementation gaps identified during prior feasibility testing, where preliminary evidence demonstrated encouraging trends but lacked statistical power to detect adoption changes. By coupling evidence-based clinical training with mentorship infrastructure specifically designed for resource-limited rural settings, the program seeks to overcome documented barriers to buprenorphine prescribing, including medication stigma, insufficient training, and limited peer support. The research will generate implementation and clinical effectiveness data to inform broader strategies for increasing medication-assisted treatment accessibility in underserved rural communities through primary care delivery systems.