Rigorous Evaluation of Policy-Level Interventions to Prevent Overdose (R01)

Overview

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC, Injury Center) is soliciting investigator-initiated research to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of policies for reducing drug use and overdose as well as the effect of these strategies on disparities in medical care and health outcomes. 

To support comprehensive prevention efforts, research is needed on policy approaches that have not undergone rigorous evaluations of their impact on overdose-related outcomes (i.e., nonfatal overdose, fatal overdose, substance use disorders, substance use, initiation of substance use among youth).

Equally important to quantifying the impacts of these policies on health outcomes is understanding their implementation and how implementation affects achieving the intended outcomes of the policy among groups experiencing a disproportionate burden of overdose and/or groups that are at greater risk of experiencing adverse outcomes related to substance use due to social determinants of health. 

The proposed research should evaluate the impact of a selected local, state, tribal, federal, or organizational policy (e.g., school or health systems) aimed at reducing or regulating substance use or reducing drug overdose, on rates of at least two overdose outcomes (i.e., nonfatal overdose, fatal overdose, substance use disorders, substance use, initiation of substance use among youth).

Applicant institutions can submit only one application with the same contact PD/PI. Only one application per contact PD/PI will be funded under this announcement.

Exclusion from funding consideration, regardless of the scientific or technical merit of
the proposed project, as evidenced by the Research Strategy section of the application’s
research plan:

• Evaluation of a policy for its impact only on the secondary outcomes (e.g., mediators of the association between the policy and the primary overdose-related outcomes such as substance use disorder treatment initiation, changes in opioid prescribing practices, fentanyl test strip or naloxone distribution, and moderators) without also evaluating the policy’s impact on at least two primary overdoserelated outcomes.
• Evaluation that only addresses a strategy (e.g., media campaign or educational interventions) that addresses change in individual-, peer- or family-level factors (e.g., attitudes, knowledge, skills) rather than change in social or structural conditions (i.e., without also evaluating the policy’s impact on at least two primary overdose-related outcomes). Activities that are instituted as the result of a policy and are being evaluated for their impact on individual-, peer- or familyfactors (e.g., policy requiring teacher training and proposal evaluating changes in teachers’ identification of substance use) are evaluations of such a strategy.
• Evaluation of a policy only for its impact on nicotine and/or alcohol related outcomes identified as primary overdose-related outcomes. Applications that propose to evaluate a policy that has not yet been enacted and implemented before the application due date, as evidenced by lack of inclusion of the dates of the enactment and implementation of the policy in the SF-424 Research Strategy.
• Applications that propose to engage in advocacy efforts designed to enact laws, regulations, administrative actions, or incentives.

Scientific Merit Review: 03/01/2024
Estimated Start Date: 09/30/2024 
Number of awards: 2

The maximum award amount will be $350,000 per award for the first 12-month budget period. This includes both direct and indirect costs. 

Applicants may request a project period of up to three (3) years. The maximum total project funding is $2,100,000 (direct and indirect) per award, over the project period. The project period is expected to be 09/30/2024 to 09/29/2027.

A pre-application teleconference call will be conducted on October 17, 2023 to address questions from prospective applicants regarding NOFO RFA-CE-24-012.