Train friends and family to be harm‑reduction champions for people who use opioids

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

The trial will recruit non‑substance‑using friends and family members who live in Chicago and train them as peer harm reduction support champions, then ask each to recruit one friend or family member who uses opioids and lives on the West Side. Both peers and the people who use opioids will receive an educational session, naloxone, and fentanyl test strip kits, and the intervention includes a counselor‑led conversation to establish ongoing harm‑reduction support. Primary outcomes include feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and preliminary signals of increased access to harm‑reduction tools, reduced substance‑use stigma, and potential overdose prevention. The intervention is delivered through a local community outreach site and focuses on communities on Chicago’s West Side with historically low access to harm‑reduction services.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Eligibility Criteria for Non-PWUD (i.e., people who do not use drugs) Peer Intervention Participants, to Be Trained as Harm Reduction Support Champions. 1) Non-PWUD peers recruited directly to the study (i.e., not by a PWUD peer partner) will be eligible to participate in the intervention arm of the study if they live in Chicago, know someone at least 18 years of age who lives on the West side of Chicago who currently uses opioids (to the best of their knowledge), state that they are interested in learning how to offer social support and practical support to that person, report that they have not used "hard" drugs (drugs other than alcohol or marijuana) recreationally in the last year, are at least 18 years of age, and state that they and the person they want to support are able to be interviewed in English and/or Spanish. 2) Non-PWUD peers recruited to the intervention arm of the study by a study participant they know who uses drugs will be eligible to participate in the intervention if they live in Chicago, report that they have not used "hard" drugs (drugs other than alcohol or marijuana) recreationally in the last year, state that they are willing to learn how to support their peer who uses drugs, are at least 18 years old, and are able to be interviewed in English and/or Spanish.

Eligibility Criteria for PWUD Intervention Participants (i.e., intervention participants who use drugs). 1) People who use drugs (PWUD) recruited directly to the intervention arm of the study (i.e., not by a non-PWUD peer partner) by West Side Heroin and Opioid Task Force or snowball sampling will be eligible to participate in the intervention if they live on the West side of Chicago, report that they currently use opioids (i.e., in the last week), know at least one person living in Chicago who has not used opioids in the last year and who they are willing to try to recruit to the study as someone who might be willing to offer them harm reduction support, are at least 18 years old, and are able to be interviewed in English and/or Spanish. 2) PWUD recruited to the intervention arm of the study by their non-PWUD peers who are enrolled in the study will be eligible to participate in the intervention group if they live in Chicago, have a study recruitment coupon from a non-PWUD participant, report that they currently use opioids (i.e., in the last week), state that they are willing to learn how their peer might be able to support them, are at least 18 years of age, and are able to be interviewed in English and/or Spanish.

Eligibility Criteria for Non-equivalent Comparison Group Participants. Comparison group participants will be eligible to participate in the comparison arm of the study if they report currently using opioids (i.e., in the last week), have accessed harm reduction services from one of the study's community partners (Community Outreach Intervention Projects; or West Side Heroin and Opioid Task Force) in the last six months, are at least 18 years old, and are able to speak English and/or Spanish. These individuals who are recruited to the comparison group will not be eligible to participate in the intervention unless they are given a recruitment coupon by a non-PWUD peer.

Where it's running

• Community Outreach Intervention Projects (COIP)
  Chicago, Illinois, United States Recruiting

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Leslie D. Williams, Ph.D. — University of Illinois Chicago
• Study coordinator: Leslie D. Williams, Ph.D.
• Email: lesliedw@uic.edu
• Phone: 312-996-8820

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How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.