# CE24-013 - Developing and Evaluating the Concerned Caregivers Education for Resource Navigation (ConCERN) Intervention for Preventing Overdose

> **NIH ALLCDC R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2024 · $748,521

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Despite scientific evidence supporting reduction in overdose risk with medications for opioid use disorder
(MOUD) and engagement with harm reduction approaches, uptake remains low. The social networks of people
who use drugs (PWUD) can have profound impacts on their engagement with treatment and other supportive
services. The consequential role of concerned significant others (CSOs) supporting PWUD suggests they may
be key intervention points for altering overdose risk behavior through promoting uptake of evidence-based
treatments and harm reduction for opioid use. CSOs of PWUD often want to provide effective support, but they
may lack sufficient knowledge, skills, or resources, especially when supporting individuals who are unable or
unwilling to stop drug use and who may benefit from MOUD or harm reduction. For example, CSOs commonly
report difficulties navigating community and health system services and may perpetuate stigma towards
evidence-based treatments by equating MOUD to illicit opioid use. Existing programs focused on the CSOs of
PWUD have commonly been designed in the context of alcohol use disorder, which differs from opioid use with
respect to treatments and stigma manifestations, or they require lengthy multi-session engagement that may
not be practical or scalable to deliver in diverse contexts. Using community engaged research methodology,
we propose to develop and evaluate a novel brief digital intervention for the CSOs of people who recently
experienced an opioid-related overdose. Our goal is to systematically develop the Concerned Caregivers
Education for Resource Navigation (ConCERN) intervention that leverages 1) education addressing
stigmatizing misinformation and low knowledge regarding MOUD and harm reduction, 2) supports improved
navigation of these resources, and 3) improves caregiver well-being and communication skills to promote
treatment and harm reduction engagement among PWUD. To achieve this goal, this study will address three
specific aims. Aim 1: Use community-engaged human-centered design to develop a brief multicomponent
digital CSO intervention that reduces stigma, enhances system navigation, builds positive communication
skills, and improves caregiver well-being. Aim 2: Test the effectiveness of ConCERN versus treatment as
usual on reducing overdose risk behavior and improving engagement in harm reduction practices and MOUD.
Aim 3: Evaluate implementation outcomes, barriers, and facilitators to inform future efforts to scale up
ConCERN. We will employ a mixed methods dyad design guided by evidence-based implementation
frameworks to examine outcomes in both PWUD and CSOs allowing for measurement of drug use behaviors
as well as reduction in CSO stigma, and improvement in their support skills and well-being. The ConCERN
intervention is significant because it will provide influential resources and reduce stigma operating in the social
networks of PWUD. It is also innovative as there is little research ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10992539
- **Project number:** 1R01CE003668-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Pooja Lagisetty
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $748,521
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-30 → 2029-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10992539

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10992539, CE24-013 - Developing and Evaluating the Concerned Caregivers Education for Resource Navigation (ConCERN) Intervention for Preventing Overdose (1R01CE003668-01). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/10992539. Licensed CC0.

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