Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Maryland, College Park received a $107,386 Project Grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) to develop a single-session, peer-delivered internalized stigma reduction intervention for individuals with polysubstance use in rural Maryland. The award, dated May 15, 2026, with completion targeted for April 30, 2028, addresses the disproportionate burden of opioid and stimulant use in rural communities and the substantial barriers to treatment engagement and retention posed by internalized stigma surrounding substance use disorder and medication for opioid use disorder. The intervention leverages Peer Recovery Specialists—individuals with lived experience in substance use disorder and recovery—to deliver a brief, evidence-based stigma reduction approach based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy principles, tailored specifically for resource-constrained rural settings where access to such interventions is limited.

This project aligns with NIDA's core mission to develop new knowledge and approaches for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of drug use, misuse, and addiction through implementation research. By combining peer-delivered services with evidence-based therapeutic techniques in a brief, scalable format, the research seeks to reduce internalized stigma and its associated negative consequences, thereby improving treatment engagement, retention, and sustained recovery outcomes for underserved rural populations experiencing polysubstance use.