# National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) COVID-19 Supplement

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2020 · $130,357

## Abstract

SUMMARY OF PARENT GRANT AND PROPOSED SUPPLEMENT
Parent Study: Through our parent U01, our National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) Coordinating
Center aims to provide NIDA and the field with the most timely, salient, and valuable information on emerging
substance use trends. By expanding data collection to include both former NDEWS sentinel sites as well as
former Community Epidemiology Workgroup (CEWG) sites, and by incorporating novel surveillance methods
to ensure early detection of signals of new psychoactive substances and known substances, our Early Warning
Network extends geographic representation and provides a more complete picture of the size, direction, and
depth of substance use patterns in all US Census regions. We will use novel surveillance methods to ensure
early detection of signals indicating emerging drug trends and harmonize surveillance data across sentinel and
CEWG sites. We will also conduct on-the-ground epidemiologic investigations on topics of immediate crisis or
need in order to provide functional feedback to impacted communities towards optimizing current and future
response, and we will disseminate results rapidly to the scientific community and the public alike.
Proposed Supplement: The current COVID-19 crisis underscores a need for rapid assessments of the virus’s
impact in substance-using populations throughout the NDEWS Early Warning Network, as people who use
drugs appear to be at increased risk for COVID-19-related adverse outcomes and may find it more difficult to
get care during the crisis. In addition, COVID-19 may alter one’s exposure to drug use, certain drugs, or might
change patterns of drug use altogether. As an Early Warning System, NDEWS must be on the forefront of new
trends in drug use, drug-related mortality, and drug treatment utilization, all of which may be either directly or
indirectly impacted by COVID-19. Although in-person human subjects research has been halted, COVID-19
focused efforts that must begin now—with creative strategies that allow for immediate data to assess the
impact of COVID-19 on substance use behaviors. In this proposed study, we will (Aim 1) collect rapid response
data on substance use-related consequences of COVID-19 from novel key informants across the country in the
urban, rural, and suburban areas represented by the 18 Early Warning Network sites, focused on decedents,
family members of decedents, and the community at large. Key informants will include 1) funeral directors
(n=200), 2) emergency medical service personnel (n=200), and 3) syringe exchange workers (n=75). We will
(Aim 2) detect trends in patterns of drug-related mortality, health services utilization, including overdose
reversals, and syringe exchange services by following up with key informants at 2, 3, 4, and 5 months post-
baseline. We will then (Aim 3) rapidly disseminate the data to NIDA, through media outreach, and contribute to
science through peer-reviewed publications. At a time when we cannot ph...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10148871
- **Project number:** 3U01DA051126-01S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Linda B. Cottler
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $130,357
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2025-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10148871

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10148871, National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) COVID-19 Supplement (3U01DA051126-01S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10148871. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*