Opioid Use DisorderNCT07620171
Peer Recovery Support for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Retention
A study testing Peer Support in people with Opioid Use Disorder and Peer Recovery Supporters, run by University of Pennsylvania at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether adding peer recovery support services to standard opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment in primary care helps patients stay in treatment longer. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Opioid Use Disorder, Peer Recovery Supporters, Peer Recovery Coaching
- What is being tested?
- Peer Support
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 15 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 9 Jan 2026to 31 Oct 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Age 18 years or older
- Diagnosis of opioid use disorder (OUD)
- Currently receiving or initiating buprenorphine treatment from a primary care physician
- Able to communicate in English
- Access to a phone
- Able and willing to provide written informed consent
Who cannot join
- Acute suicidal ideation or intent
- Active mania or psychotic episode
- Significant cognitive impairment
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site
Penn Family Medicine
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104
About this study
Official title: Reducing OUD Treatment Dropout: Development and Pilot Test of a Peer Recovery Support Intervention in Primary Care
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether adding peer recovery support services to standard opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment in primary care helps patients stay in treatment longer. The main question it seeks to answer is whether it is feasible to deliver a peer recovery support intervention alongside medication-assisted treatment (buprenorphine) in a Philadelphia primary care clinic.
Participants will receive standard OUD treatment (buprenorphine) combined with peer recovery support services for 180 days. They will attend study visits at baseline, weekly for the first 2 weeks, then every 2 weeks, then monthly, and complete assessments about substance use, medication adherence, self-efficacy, resilience, and coping. Participants will also take part in brief periodic interviews about their experience with peer support.
Read the detailed description
Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a chronic, relapsing condition associated with substantial morbidity, mortality, and social burden. Buprenorphine, delivered in primary care settings, is an evidence-based treatment for OUD, yet treatment dropout remains a critical barrier to recovery. Many patients disengage during the early weeks following induction, before buprenorphine has had the opportunity to stabilize their condition. Peer recovery support (PRS) services, provided by individuals with lived experience of addiction and recovery, represent a promising strategy to improve retention, but the evidence base for optimized peer interventions in primary care OUD treatment remains limited.
The peer intervention evaluated in this study was developed through a systematic optimization process conducted in partnership with OUD, peer, and implementation experts, with extensive input from patients, practitioners, and community stakeholders. Intervention design drew on surveys and qualitative studies of Philadelphia-region OUD treatment programs with existing peer support services, as well as best practices from community health worker models in other chronic disease settings. Component elements, including peer qualifications, supervision structure, training curriculum, caseload size, scope of services, and care team integration, were systematically evaluated and refined prior to the pilot.
The resulting intervention is organized around five core structural elements: (1) clinically integrated supervision with structured case review; (2) standardized recruitment and hiring practices emphasizing empathy, problem-solving capacity, and community engagement; (3) a competency-based training curriculum covering psychosocial support, crisis response, stigma, interprofessional ethics, social determinants of health, and system navigation; (4) stage-tailored peer-patient contact, with intensive engagement during the high-dropout early induction period transitioning to stabilization-focused support as treatment progresses; and (5) active peer wellness practices to mitigate compassion fatigue and burnout.
This pilot study will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and operational implementation of the intervention within primary care-based buprenorphine treatment programs and generate data to inform a future randomized controlled trial.
- Conditions
- Opioid Use Disorder, Peer Recovery Supporters, Peer Recovery Coaching, Primary Care, Buprenorphine
- Being tested
- Peer Support
- Keywords
- Opioid Use Disorder, OUD, Peer Recovery Coach, Peer Recovery Support, Buprenorphine, Medications for Opioid Use Disorder, Primary Care
- Medical subject headings
- Opioid-Related Disorders
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Peer SupportBehavioural
Peer recovery support services delivered by trained, certified peers with lived experience of opioid use disorder, added to standard medication-assisted treatment (buprenorphine) in a primary care setting. Peer services are structured around three stages of OUD treatment (initial engagement, early treatment, and stable treatment) with contact intensity tailored to dropout risk at each stage (approximately 2 contact hours/week during initial engagement). Contact modalities include in-office meetings, phone calls, texts, and appointment reminders. Peers are supervised and integrated as full members of the clinical care team. The intervention was developed with input from OUD, peer, and implementation experts and informed by qualitative and survey data from Philadelphia-region OUD treatment programs. Caseload: approximately 15 patients per peer. Duration: 180 days.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Peer Support | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Peer Support |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
OUD treatment retention
Retention in OUD treatment measured as time in days from treatment initiation (buprenorphine induction) to dropout (unplanned treatment termination) or treatment completion over the 180-day study period.
Measured: 180 days
Secondary outcomes (4)
Self-report opioid use
Assessed using an abbreviated 30-day Time-Line Follow-Back (TLFB) instrument capturing self-reported opioid use at each study visit.
Measured: 180 days
Buprenorphine adherence
Assessed using the Brief Medication Questionnaire (self-report).
Measured: 180 days
Resilience, coping, and self-efficacy
A 30-item composite questionnaire combining three patient-centered outcome domains to minimize participant burden. Section 1 (Resilience, 10 items) uses a 5-point Likert scale rating the past month, with 4 items reverse-scored; scores range from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating greater resilience. Section 2 (Coping Strategies, 10 items adapted from the Brief COPE) uses a 4-point scale rating frequency of coping strategy use, including a substance use item; scores range from 10 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater frequency of coping strategy use. Section 3 (Abstinence Self-Efficacy, 10 items adapted from the Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scale) uses a 5-point confidence scale assessing ability to remain opioid-free across situational triggers over the past week; scores range from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating greater confidence in maintaining opioid abstinence.
Measured: 180 days
Opioid urine drug screen positivity
Proportion of urine drug screens positive for opioids, obtained at routine clinical visits throughout the study period.
Measured: 180 days
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted2 Jun 2026
- Study start9 Jan 2026
- Primary completion31 Oct 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Oct 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (4)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Opioid Use DisorderStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of PennsylvaniaThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 15 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Pennsylvania
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Rebecca Harris, University of Pennsylvania
- Investigators
- Rebecca A Harris, MD, Principal investigator, University of Pennsylvania
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07620171
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 858768
- Other IDs
- K23DA054157
- Status last verified
- May 2026
- First submitted
- 13 May 2026
- Last updated
- 2 Jun 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: Individual participant data will not be shared. This is a small pilot feasibility study involving participants with opioid use disorder, a population for whom confidentiality protections are particularly important given the sensitivity of substance use data and potential risks of stigma and discrimination. The sample is too small for effective de-identification of individual-level data. Aggregate descriptive findings will be reported in publications.
Publications
Bao Y, Zhang H, Hutchings K, Harris RA, Calderbank T, Schackman BR. Medicaid-Covered Peer Support Services Used by Enrollees With Opioid Use Disorder. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Jul 1;7(7):e2420737. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.20737.
PubMed 38980680Harris RA, Campbell K, Calderbank T, Dooley P, Aspero H, Maginnis J, O'Donnell N, Coviello D, French R, Bao Y, Mandell DS, Bogner HR, Lowenstein M. Integrating peer support services into primary care-based OUD treatment: Lessons from the Penn integrated model. Healthc (Amst). 2022 Sep;10(3):100641. doi: 10.1016/j.hjdsi.2022.100641. Epub 2022 Jul 2.
PubMed 35785613Harris RA, Mandell DS, Kampman KM, Bao Y, Campbell K, Cidav Z, Coviello DM, French R, Livesey C, Lowenstein M, Lynch KG, McKay JR, Oslin DW, Wolk CB, Bogner HR. Collaborative care in the treatment of opioid use disorder and mental health conditions in primary care: A clinical study protocol. Contemp Clin Trials. 2021 Apr;103:106325. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2021.106325. Epub 2021 Feb 22.
PubMed 33631356Harris RA, Kearney M, Keddem S, Calderbank T, Tomczuk L, Clapp J, Perrone J, Kranzler HR, Long JA, Mandell DS. Organization of primary care and early MOUD discontinuation. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2024 Dec 19;19(1):96. doi: 10.1186/s13722-024-00527-w.
PubMed 39702538
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 2 Jun 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Reducing OUD Treatment Dropout: Development and Pilot Test of a Peer Recovery Support Intervention in Primary Care
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07620171
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 858768
- Conditions
- Opioid Use Disorder, Peer Recovery Supporters, Peer Recovery Coaching, Primary Care, Buprenorphine
- Keywords
- Opioid Use Disorder, OUD, Peer Recovery Coach, Peer Recovery Support, Buprenorphine, Medications for Opioid Use Disorder, Primary Care
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Enrolling by invitation
- Enrolment
- 15 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of PennsylvaniaUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
- Study start
- 9 Jan 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 Oct 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 31 Oct 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 2 Jun 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether adding peer recovery support services to standard opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment in primary care helps patients stay in treatment longer. The main question it seeks to answer is whether it is feasible to deliver a peer recovery support intervention alongside medication-assisted treatment (buprenorphine) in a Philadelphia primary care clinic.
Participants will receive standard OUD treatment (buprenorphine) combined with peer recovery support services for 180 days. They will attend study visits at baseline, weekly for the first 2 weeks, then every 2 weeks, then monthly, and complete assessments about substance use, medication adherence, self-efficacy, resilience, and coping. Participants will also take part in brief periodic interviews about their experience with peer support.
Detailed description
Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a chronic, relapsing condition associated with substantial morbidity, mortality, and social burden. Buprenorphine, delivered in primary care settings, is an evidence-based treatment for OUD, yet treatment dropout remains a critical barrier to recovery. Many patients disengage during the early weeks following induction, before buprenorphine has had the opportunity to stabilize their condition. Peer recovery support (PRS) services, provided by individuals with lived experience of addiction and recovery, represent a promising strategy to improve retention, but the evidence base for optimized peer interventions in primary care OUD treatment remains limited.
The peer intervention evaluated in this study was developed through a systematic optimization process conducted in partnership with OUD, peer, and implementation experts, with extensive input from patients, practitioners, and community stakeholders. Intervention design drew on surveys and qualitative studies of Philadelphia-region OUD treatment programs with existing peer support services, as well as best practices from community health worker models in other chronic disease settings. Component elements, including peer qualifications, supervision structure, training curriculum, caseload size, scope of services, and care team integration, were systematically evaluated and refined prior to the pilot.
The resulting intervention is organized around five core structural elements: (1) clinically integrated supervision with structured case review; (2) standardized recruitment and hiring practices emphasizing empathy, problem-solving capacity, and community engagement; (3) a competency-based training curriculum covering psychosocial support, crisis response, stigma, interprofessional ethics, social determinants of health, and system navigation; (4) stage-tailored peer-patient contact, with intensive engagement during the high-dropout early induction period transitioning to stabilization-focused support as treatment progresses; and (5) active peer wellness practices to mitigate compassion fatigue and burnout.
This pilot study will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and operational implementation of the intervention within primary care-based buprenorphine treatment programs and generate data to inform a future randomized controlled trial.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Peer Support | Experimental | Behavioral: Peer Support |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Age 18 years or older
- Diagnosis of opioid use disorder (OUD)
- Currently receiving or initiating buprenorphine treatment from a primary care physician
- Able to communicate in English
- Access to a phone
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Acute suicidal ideation or intent
- Active mania or psychotic episode
- Significant cognitive impairment
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Peer SupportPeer recovery support services delivered by trained, certified peers with lived experience of opioid use disorder, added to standard medication-assisted treatment (buprenorphine) in a primary care setting. Peer services are structured around three stages of OUD treatment (initial engagement, early treatment, and stable treatment) with contact intensity tailored to dropout risk at each stage (approximately 2 contact hours/week during initial engagement). Contact modalities include in-office meetings, phone calls, texts, and appointment reminders. Peers are supervised and integrated as full members of the clinical care team. The intervention was developed with input from OUD, peer, and implementation experts and informed by qualitative and survey data from Philadelphia-region OUD treatment programs. Caseload: approximately 15 patients per peer. Duration: 180 days. | Behavioural | Peer Support |
Primary outcome
OUD treatment retention
Time frame: 180 days
Retention in OUD treatment measured as time in days from treatment initiation (buprenorphine induction) to dropout (unplanned treatment termination) or treatment completion over the 180-day study period.
4 secondary outcomes
Self-report opioid use
Time frame: 180 days
Buprenorphine adherence
Time frame: 180 days
Resilience, coping, and self-efficacy
Time frame: 180 days
Opioid urine drug screen positivity
Time frame: 180 days
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 2 Jun 2026.
- Results publication: PubMed 38980680Bao Y, Zhang H, Hutchings K, Harris RA, Calderbank T, Schackman BR. Medicaid-Covered Peer Support Services Used by Enrollees With Opioid Use Disorder. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Jul 1;7(7):e2420737. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.20737.
- Results publication: PubMed 35785613Harris RA, Campbell K, Calderbank T, Dooley P, Aspero H, Maginnis J, O'Donnell N, Coviello D, French R, Bao Y, Mandell DS, Bogner HR, Lowenstein M. Integrating peer support services into primary care-based OUD treatment: Lessons from the Penn integrated model. Healthc (Amst). 2022 Sep;10(3):100641. doi: 10.1016/j.hjdsi.2022.100641. Epub 2022 Jul 2.
- Results publication: PubMed 33631356Harris RA, Mandell DS, Kampman KM, Bao Y, Campbell K, Cidav Z, Coviello DM, French R, Livesey C, Lowenstein M, Lynch KG, McKay JR, Oslin DW, Wolk CB, Bogner HR. Collaborative care in the treatment of opioid use disorder and mental health conditions in primary care: A clinical study protocol. Contemp Clin Trials. 2021 Apr;103:106325. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2021.106325. Epub 2021 Feb 22.
- Results publication: PubMed 39702538Harris RA, Kearney M, Keddem S, Calderbank T, Tomczuk L, Clapp J, Perrone J, Kranzler HR, Long JA, Mandell DS. Organization of primary care and early MOUD discontinuation. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2024 Dec 19;19(1):96. doi: 10.1186/s13722-024-00527-w.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. Individual participant data will not be shared. This is a small pilot feasibility study involving participants with opioid use disorder, a population for whom confidentiality protections are particularly important given the sensitivity of substance use data and potential risks of stigma and discrimination. The sample is too small for effective de-identification of individual-level data. Aggregate descriptive findings will be reported in publications.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Rebecca A Harris, MD principal investigator
University of Pennsylvania
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Peer Support in people with Opioid Use Disorder and Peer Recovery Supporters, run by University of Pennsylvania at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: enrolling by invitation, as of the sponsor's last update on 2 Jun 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
OUD treatment retention (time frame: 180 days). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07620171, which also lists 4 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 2 Jun 2026.