NYU Langone Health and Brown University’s School of Public Health today announced a grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to conduct research to measure the impact of a number of the first publicly recognized overdose prevention centers (OPCs) in america, situated in Recent York City and Windfall, Rhode Island.

Overdose prevention centers are community-based spaces where individuals who use drugs can more safely test and self-administer, including by injection and inhalation, previously obtained controlled substances, under the supervision of staff trained to reply when medically needed. These facilities also connect individuals who use drugs with health and social services, including drug treatment, harm reduction, medical care, mental health treatment, and social support.

As a part of this first-of-its kind research project, the interdisciplinary team of researchers will conduct a rigorous and comprehensive evaluation of the primary publicly recognized OPCs within the country: two sites in Recent York City and one site that may open in Windfall in 2024. The study seeks to enroll 1,000 participants in each Recent York and Windfall over the age of 18 who already use drugs and have visited an OPC or other site providing harm reduction services.

Based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, greater than 106,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2021—the best number in recorded history, reflecting a rate that has doubled since 2015. There are greater than 200 overdose prevention centers in 14 countries globally, and international research shows they’re related to fewer overdoses, reductions in emergency department visits, increased access to addiction treatment, and improved public order.

There may be an urgent need for data to find out the impact of overdose prevention centers in america, which has distinct healthcare delivery systems, social policies, and policing practices. The present U.S. overdose crisis is driven largely by fentanyl, an artificial opioid as much as 50 times stronger than heroin. Fentanyl is involved in about two-thirds of all U.S. overdoses.

We now have an unprecedented opportunity to review the primary publicly recognized overdose prevention centers within the country across two different states, in addition to the impact on the communities through which they operate. This research is urgently needed to tell policies that may best support public health, as more jurisdictions across the country consider implementing OPCs.”

Magdalena Cerdá, DrPH, professor within the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone, director of its Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy, and one in all the study’s two lead investigators

“The overdose crisis has touched every community across America. From coast to coast and across age, gender, and race/ethnicity—persons are dying,” said Brandon DL Marshall, PhD, professor of epidemiology on the Brown University School of Public Health and the founding director of the People, Place & Health Collective at Brown University. “This groundbreaking study will help us determine whether and the way OPCs are an efficient public health tool as a part of a more compassionate, evidence-based response to this crisis within the U.S.”

From 2023 to 2027, a multidisciplinary team of researchers will conduct a multi-method, individual- and community-level evaluation of OPCs in Recent York City and Rhode Island. They may do the next:

• investigate whether enrolled participants who visit OPCs experience lower rates of fatal or nonfatal overdoses, drug-related health problems, and emergency department visits, and whether or not they usually tend to enter treatment for substance use disorders in comparison with individuals who use drugs but don’t visit OPCs
• examine the community impact of OPCs by assessing whether neighborhoods surrounding OPCs experience a greater change in overdoses, public disorder reminiscent of drug-related litter, arrests and noise complaints, and economic activity in comparison with similar neighborhood blocks that shouldn’t have an OPC
• estimate the operational costs of OPCs and the potential cost savings to the healthcare and criminal justice systems related to OPC use

No funds from the National Institutes of Health will likely be used to support the operation of overdose prevention centers. Grantees at NYU Langone and Brown will study the impact of websites already in operation to elucidate the study goals.

The study will involve repeated assessments over 4 years of the 1,000 study participants, with half from Recent York City sites and half from Windfall, in addition to qualitative and ethnographic methods and cost-effectiveness evaluation.

“Overdose prevention centers have saved lives over the past 12 months,” said Ashwin Vasan, MD, PhD, commissioner of the Recent York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. “Their operation in Recent York City also offers a singular opportunity within the years ahead to find out about their clients, the services offered, and their wider impact on the communities served. We look ahead to partnering with NYU Langone, OnPoint, and the State of Rhode Island on a sturdy, long-term study. The findings, after they’re ready, could have national implications as all of us fight the rising tide of overdose deaths within the U.S. Within the meantime, we’ll proudly proceed to work with our partners at OnPoint, as they convey lifesaving resources to Recent Yorkers.”

“We’re so pleased with the work we’re doing in the primary two overdose prevention centers within the U.S., and we look ahead to providing access to the teams at NYU Langone and Brown to carefully evaluate our services and related outcomes,” said Sam Rivera, executive director of OnPoint. OnPoint and Project Weber/RENEW are operating the OPCs in each jurisdiction but won’t receive NIH funding as a part of this study.

This study will likely be a component of the NIH Harm Reduction Research Network, which was established in 2022 to check harm reduction strategies in numerous community settings to tell efforts to assist save lives.

Funding for the study was provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a part of the National Institutes of Health, under grant number R01DA058277. This text is solely the responsibility of the authors and doesn’t necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.