Reducing social hardships to help rural parents with substance use and mental health
Official title: Disrupting Social Risk Factors of Health to Improve Substance Use and Mental Health Outcomes for Parents in Rural Regions
Funded at Chestnut Health Systems, INC. · NIH-11363317 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This program offers the multi-part Just Care for Families support to rural parents to reduce problems like unemployment and housing stress so they can avoid opioid use and feel better mentally.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Chestnut Health Systems, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Bloomington, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $782,800 |
| NIH project number | 4R01DA057556-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11363317 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are parents living in the participating rural Oregon counties who are referred to the Just Care for Families program and who face social hardships or substance use/mental health concerns.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not live in the participating counties, are not parents, or who are not experiencing social risk factors or substance use/mental health issues are unlikely to be eligible or benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
If I join, I would be one of about 250 parents referred to the Just Care for Families program across five rural Oregon counties. The team combines services at multiple levels—help with jobs, housing, clinics, and community supports—so problems that feed substance use and poor mental health are addressed together. Researchers will follow parents over time to see whether these combined supports lower risky substance use and improve mental health for parents and their families. The project will also compare how differences between counties (like available local services) change how well the program works.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lower opioid and other substance use and improve mental health for rural parents by tackling the social problems that increase risk.
How similar studies have gone: Similar multi-component social-support approaches are an emerging area with some promising signals, but applying them specifically to prevent opioid problems in rural parents is relatively new and not yet widely proven.
Where this research is happening
-
Chestnut Health Systems, INC.
Bloomington, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Saldana, Lisa — Chestnut Health Systems, INC.
- Study coordinator: Saldana, Lisa
Related research
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Disrupting social risk factors to help parents in rural areas stay healthy
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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.