Can friends and family become overdose heroes? chicago study aims to find out
NCT ID NCT06823453
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study is testing a new way to reduce opioid overdoses on Chicago's West Side. Researchers will train friends and family members of people who use opioids to become harm reduction champions. These champions will learn about tools like naloxone and fentanyl test strips, and then have a guided conversation with their loved one to offer support. The goal is to reduce stigma and make it easier for people who use opioids to access life-saving services.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Peer Harm Reduction Support Champion Intervention
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this approach could reduce stigma and increase access to life-saving harm reduction tools like naloxone, potentially lowering overdose deaths in underserved communities.
- What could go wrong
- This is a behavioral study without a control group for direct comparison, so results may be influenced by other factors. It focuses on a specific Chicago community, so findings may not apply elsewhere.
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 600 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2025
- Expected to finish
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Sep 2028
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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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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.
Eligibility Criteria for Non-PWUD (i.e., people who do not use drugs) Peer Intervention Participants, to Be Trained as Harm Reduction Support Champions. 1) Non-PWUD peers recruited directly to the study (i.e., not by a PWUD peer partner) will be eligible to participate in the intervention arm of the study if they live in Chicago, know someone at least 18 years of age who lives on the West side of Chicago who currently uses opioids (to the best of their knowledge), state that they are interested in learning how to offer social support and practical support to that person, report that they have not used "hard" drugs (drugs other than alcohol or marijuana) recreationally in the last year, are at least 18 years of age, and state that they and the person they want to support are able to be interviewed in English and/or Spanish. 2) Non-PWUD peers recruited to the intervention arm of the study by a study participant they know who uses drugs will be eligible to participate in the intervention if they live in Chicago, report that they have not used "hard" drugs (drugs other than alcohol or marijuana) recreationally in the last year, state that they are willing to learn how to support their peer who uses drugs, are at least 18 years old, and are able to be interviewed in English and/or Spanish. Eligibility Criteria for PWUD Intervention Participants (i.e., intervention participants who use drugs). 1) People who use drugs (PWUD) recruited directly to the intervention arm of the study (i.e., not by a non-PWUD peer partner) by West Side Heroin and Opioid Task Force or snowball sampling will be eligible to participate in the intervention if they live on the West side of Chicago, report that they currently use opioids (i.e., in the last week), know at least one person living in Chicago who has not used opioids in the last year and who they are willing to try to recruit to the study as someone who might be willing to offer them harm reduction support, are at least 18 years old, and are able to be interviewed in English and/or Spanish. 2) PWUD recruited to the intervention arm of the study by their non-PWUD peers who are enrolled in the study will be eligible to participate in the intervention group if they live in Chicago, have a study recruitment coupon from a non-PWUD participant, report that they currently use opioids (i.e., in the last week), state that they are willing to learn how their peer might be able to support them, are at least 18 years of age, and are able to be interviewed in English and/or Spanish. Eligibility Criteria for Non-equivalent Comparison Group Participants. Comparison group participants will be eligible to participate in the comparison arm of the study if they report currently using opioids (i.e., in the last week), have accessed harm reduction services from one of the study's community partners (Community Outreach Intervention Projects; or West Side Heroin and Opioid Task Force) in the last six months, are at least 18 years old, and are able to speak English and/or Spanish. These individuals who are recruited to the comparison group will not be eligible to participate in the intervention unless they are given a recruitment coupon by a non-PWUD peer.
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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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Community Outreach Intervention Projects (COIP)
RECRUITINGChicago, Illinois, 60644, United States
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