Research News Roundup: May 22, 2025

Journal: Harm Reduction Journal, 2025, doi: 10.1186/s12954-025-01214-y

Authors: Simon Kapler, Hira Hassan, Alexander Jeremiah, Katurah Bryant, Presto Crespo, Nesta Felix, … Ayana Jordan

Abstract:

Death from opioid use is a growing public health concern, with stark racial and ethnic disparities. The randomized controlled trial described here aims to improve initiation and engagement in harm reduction services for Black and Latine people who use drugs to minimize mortality in these populations. The trial is informed by a Community Advisory Board (CAB) of stakeholders from racial and ethnic minoritized backgrounds committed to promoting health equity in populations disproportionately impacted by the drug overdose crisis. CABs are an underutilized mechanism for engaging communities in research to improve health outcomes. Hence, in this manuscript we outline the process and methods employed in creating a CAB, describe its impact on our research study, and recognize the challenges and adaptations made to the CAB during the study.CAB recruitment targeted active community members from Black and Latine communities in the Bronx, NY and New Haven, CT. After attending community organizational meetings in each place, follow-up email efforts were unsuccessful, prompting a revised approach. Emphasizing the study’s focus on historically excluded voices, “research-naïve” individuals were sought through online searches and local grassroots organizations, excluding those affiliated with harm reduction groups to minimize bias. Once CAB members were identified, a remote orientation was held, and the CAB began providing regular feedback on research activities, from participant recruitment to educational script details. CAB members’ diverse identities and life experiences generated nuanced discussions, which were distilled into feedback improving research materials and recruitment strategies. In the future, the CAB will also guide data analysis and research publications. Other areas of emphasis have included straightforward language in study materials, balanced messaging about harm reduction recommendations, and specific community outreach opportunities. Practical barriers that needed to be addressed for optimal CAB functioning included timely compensation with minimal institutional burden and assistance with meeting coordination and communication. The CAB has ensured that Black and Latine community voices are included in guiding our study, promoting equitable and ethical research. As harm reduction research advances, it is essential to center this work around the intersectional identities of people who use drugs to prevent the disproportionate burden and deaths among Black and Latine people.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.

Journal: BMC Health Services Research, 2025, doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-12811-9

Authors: Marina Tolou-Shams, Johanna B. Folk, Margareth V. Del Cid, Jannet Lara Salas, Alison Czopp, Juan Carlos Gonzalez, … Jill Duerr Berrick

Abstract:

Background: Adolescents in foster care report high rates of mental health needs, yet intervention access remains limited. Substance use commonly co-occurs with mental health symptoms, but availability of substance use services for foster youth is even more scant than mental health services. Technology has advanced access to behavioral health care across the lifespan, but only for certain sectors of the population. Little research focuses on leveraging technology to advance access for foster youth. We report open trial findings, as a precursor to launching a large-scale implementation science trial, on how a U.S. nationwide serving support system for foster youth, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), might be leveraged to expand access to substance use prevention resources via the FostrSpace app. FostrSpace provides asynchronous resources and synchronous navigator, peer support, and direct clinical intervention. A concurrent 6-session ECHO® substance use prevention telementoring curriculum was co-developed as a FostrSpace implementation strategy with a 6-member CASA Advisory Board.

Methods: Seven youth-CASA dyads enrolled in the open trial. We used a mixed-methods design (quantitative assessment and qualitative exit interviews) to assess feasibility and acceptability of ECHO® sessions (CASA-only) and the usability of the FostrSpace app (youth-only).

Results: Six of seven of the youth accessed the app at least once, but a majority reported the app log-in process was burdensome and unappealing, thereby limiting them from frequently using the app. All youth rated the app features, design and content as appealing, helpful and relevant. ECHO® -FostrSpace session attendance was high (most attended 5 or more sessions) and CASAs found the content highly engaging and useful, especially regarding CASA-youth substance use communication skills.

Conclusions: Technological barriers, such as log-in burden, can prevent youth in need from accessing relevant services and must be regularly assessed and resolved. Substance use education and skills-building for CASAs is novel and a viable implementation strategy to increase foster youth access to digital behavioral health services innovations. Substance use prevention content should be integrated within discussions on youth mental health and trauma to be most engaging and relevant. Findings are informing the subsequent hybrid implementation-effectiveness trial design of FostrSpace with 400 youth-CASA dyads across 10 CASA programs in California.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.

Journal: NPJ Digital Medicine, 2025, doi: 10.1038/s41746-025-01642-x

Authors: Delaney A. Smith, Adam Lavertu, Aadesh Salecha, Tymor Hamamsy, Keith Humphreys, Anna Lembke, … Johannes C. Eichstaedt

Abstract:

The opioid epidemic persists in the U.S., with over 80,000 deaths annually since 2021, primarily driven by synthetic opioids. Responding to this evolving epidemic requires reliable and timely information. One source of data is social media platforms. We assessed the utility of Reddit data for surveillance, covering heroin, prescription, and synthetic drugs. We built a natural language processing pipeline to identify opioid-related content and created a cohort of 1,689,039 Reddit users, each assigned to a state based on their previous Reddit activity. We measured their opioid-related posts over time and compared rates against CDC overdose and NFLIS report rates. To simulate the real-world prediction of synthetic opioid overdose rates, we added near real-time Reddit data to a model relying on CDC mortality data with a typical 6-month reporting lag. Reddit data significantly improved the prediction accuracy of overdose rates. This work suggests that social media can help monitor drug epidemics.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.