Rapid overdose map to guide street-based treatment and harm reduction in Los Angeles
Predicting fatal and non-fatal overdose in Los Angeles County with Rapid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard to target street-based addiction treatment and harm reduction services
Building a fast, public dashboard that shows where fatal and nonfatal overdoses are happening in Los Angeles so street-based teams can reach people at highest risk.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Los Angeles NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11364657 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
The team will combine geolocated data from EMS, medical examiners, hospitals, syringe programs, and other local sources to create neighborhood-level maps of fatal and nonfatal overdoses. They will harmonize and rapidly process these diverse data streams and use short-term forecasting (nowcasting) to predict emerging hotspots of overdose, opioid use disorder, and injection drug use. A publicly available Rapid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard will help street medicine and harm-reduction teams find where to deliver naloxone, outreach, and addiction treatment. The project is done in partnership with five local government agencies and street-based programs and will include steps to protect privacy while making the data useful for on-the-ground response.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People who are unhoused or who use opioids or stimulants in Los Angeles County, especially those spending time in street settings, are the population this effort is designed to help.
Not a fit: People who live outside Los Angeles County or who already receive continuous clinic-based addiction care are unlikely to see direct benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help outreach teams reach people at high risk faster, potentially preventing overdoses and connecting more people to treatment and harm-reduction services.
How similar studies have performed: Local EMS and public-health dashboards have helped target responses before, but combining multiple geolocated sources with rapid nowcasting for street-level outreach is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Los Angeles, United States
- University of California Los Angeles — Los Angeles, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Shover, Chelsea Leigh — University of California Los Angeles
- Study coordinator: Shover, Chelsea Leigh
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 below.