Implementing a Patient Navigation Intervention Across a Health System to Improve Outcomes for Patients With Opioid Use Disorder

Status: Recruiting
Location: See location...
Intervention Type: Behavioral
Study Type: Interventional
Study Phase: Not Applicable
SUMMARY

Patient Navigation (PN) interventions following hospitalization can improve outcomes for people with opioid use disorder treatment. Delivering PN interventions on a wide scale requires many resources and coordination across institutions. This will use an evidence-based process to find solutions to these significant barriers by engaging community, hospital, and patient partners. This study is being conducted to learn more about how to implement NavSTAR, a patient navigation intervention for people with opioid use disorder, across a health system. The research team showed in a previous study with 400 participants that NavSTAR significantly increased entry into opioid use disorder treatment, reduced readmissions to the hospital, and was highly cost- effective compared to treatment as usual. This study will first pilot NavSTAR with 32 patient participants across 4 hospitals in the City of Philadelphia. Then, a large trial with 720 patient participants will be conducted to see if people who need the intervention are reached, and a sustainable plan will be created to continue the intervention after the grant award period.

Eligibility
Participation Requirements
Sex: All
Minimum Age: 18
Healthy Volunteers: f
View:

• age 18 or older;

• current DSM-5 criteria for moderate to severe OUD;

• willing and able to provide informed consent in English.

Locations
United States
Pennsylvania
Jefferson Health
RECRUITING
Philadelphia
Contact Information
Primary
Karen Alexander, PhD
kalexander@friendsresearch.org
2673983560
Backup
Jan Gryczynski, PhD
jgryczynski@friendsresearch.org
443-676-4219
Time Frame
Start Date: 2025-10-27
Estimated Completion Date: 2029-08-01
Participants
Target number of participants: 720
Treatments
No_intervention: Treatment as Usual
Treatment as usual consists of standard management by the medical or surgical team during inpatient admission, and usual care from the addiction consult service, if applicable, which provides social work consults, withdrawal symptom management, and initiation of naltrexone, buprenorphine, or methadone. All standard hospital services will be available to participants.
Experimental: NavSTAR
NavSTAR consists of TAU plus contact with a trained patient navigator who delivers the NavSTAR intervention, inclusive of theory-based motivational content, during and after discharge from the hospital. The patient navigator also has access to a small participant fund to assist with overcoming structural barriers to care (e.g., phone, obtaining IDs, a meal, a taxi ride etc.). Using the NavSTAR PN manual, the PN will address internal and external barriers to engagement in OAT through motivational intervention techniques and proactive case management and care coordination services. Contact with the PN begins at the bedside while the participant is admitted to the hospital and continues for 3 months after discharge
Related Therapeutic Areas
Sponsors
Collaborators: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Thomas Jefferson University
Leads: Friends Research Institute, Inc.

This content was sourced from clinicaltrials.gov