Ending the opioid overdose epidemic, together.

The HEALing Communities Study (HCS) was a four-year, multisite research study that aimed to test a set of evidence-based interventions and approaches for reducing overdose deaths in communities highly impacted by the opioid crisis. Conducted from January 2020 to December 2023, the study was funded through a cooperative agreement supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Researchers from the nation's leading health agencies and four academic institutions in Massachusetts, New York, Kentucky, and Ohio partnered with community members in 67 municipalities across four states to implement and test the Communities That HEAL intervention. As part of the CTH, researchers collaborated with community coalitions to implement evidence-based practices for reducing opioid overdose deaths from the Opioid-Overdose Continuum of Care Approach (ORCCA). These evidence-based practices focus on opioid education and naloxone distribution, medication treatment for opioid use disorder, and safer opioid prescribing and dispensing.

The CTH intervention also included a series of communication campaigns to help reduce stigma and increase the demand for evidence-based practices. We hope lessons from the HEALing Communities Study will help your communities respond to the opioid overdose crisis.

The study was carried out in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and is part of the Helping to End Addiction Long-term^® Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative^®, a bold effort to speed scientific solutions to stem the national opioid crisis.