Making alcohol use disorder treatment more available in underserved areas
Official title: Reducing disparities in alcohol use disorder treatment in underserved areas
Funded at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC. · NIH-11371397 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether placing more mental health clinicians in underserved areas helps people with alcohol use disorder get treatment and avoid alcohol-related hospital and emergency visits.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Canton, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | May 15, 2024 |
| Project end | April 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $555,818 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AA031588-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11371397 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This work is most relevant to people with alcohol use disorder who live in mental health professional shortage areas or other underserved communities.
✕Less likely to help
People without alcohol use disorder or those living where mental health services are already readily available are unlikely to see direct benefits from this project.
What this research studies
This research examines how expansion of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), which places clinicians in areas with few mental health providers, affects people with alcohol use disorder across the United States. Researchers will analyze national data on deaths, treatment use, emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and costs to compare areas that gained NHSC clinicians with areas that did not. The team will focus on mental health professional shortage areas versus non-shortage areas and look at changes over time and across demographic groups. The study uses existing administrative and health records rather than enrolling patients in a clinical intervention.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could support policies that increase mental health clinicians in underserved areas and reduce alcohol-related harms.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research shows NHSC expansion has increased the mental health workforce in underserved areas, but linking that growth specifically to improved alcohol use disorder outcomes is a novel analysis.
Where this research is happening
-
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC.
Canton, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Yu, Hao — Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC.
- Study coordinator: Yu, Hao
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.