Can peer support keep drug users in the ER and save lives?
NCT ID NCT07030192
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether peer support workers—people with lived experience of substance use—can help people who use drugs feel safer and stay in the emergency department until their care is complete. The study will compare what happens when peer workers are on shift versus when they are not. It aims to see if this approach reduces early departures and improves access to harm-reduction resources.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- peer support service
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could show that having peer support workers in emergency departments helps people who use drugs feel more comfortable and reduces the number who leave before getting care.
- What could go wrong
- This is a feasibility study, so it is early and small-scale. It may not prove that peer support actually reduces deaths or improves health outcomes.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 3,181 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2024
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Emergency Department (ED) patient at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) * Age 18 years or older * Identified as using substances * Able to receive or decline peer support services during the ED visit Exclusion Criteria: * Under 18 years of age * Does not report substance use
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Vancouver General Hospital
RECRUITINGVancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 1M9, Canada
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