# Reducing morbidity and mortality from overdose, HIV, and hepatitis C in opioid-using persons

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2021 · $641,983

## Abstract

ABSTRACT/SUMMARY
The United States is experiencing an epidemic of drug overdose deaths, most attributable to some type of
opioid. Opioid overdose deaths are surging because of increasing non-medical use of prescription opioids
combined with an increasingly available and cheaper alternative: heroin with or without admixed fentanyl.
Naloxone is an effective and safe opioid antagonist that reverses the potentially fatal respiratory and/or central
nervous system depression caused from opioid overdose. While naloxone is effective in reducing the risk of
overdose death, it does not address the underlying opioid use disorder or the hazards of opioid administration
by people who inject drugs, and therefore people who are injecting or who may do so in the future are at high
risk of contracting HIV and hepatitis C. Linking interventions to naloxone distribution, such as medical assisted
therapy to treat opioid use disorder (e.g., methadone or buprenorphine), HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PreP),
and hepatitis C screening, has the potential to prevent new infections and their sequela and avoid costly
treatments. However, the high cost of PreP and hepatitis C treatment magnifies the importance of employing
these interventions successfully and with favorable value. In order to weigh these tradeoffs systematically and
to inform future overdose prevention programs we seek to employ a decision analytic model to compare
alternative strategies for linking naloxone distribution with medical assisted therapy, HIV prevention, and HCV
screening. Accordingly, our Aims compare alternative scenarios for treating OUD and preventing overdose, HIV
infection, and HCV infection, to compare life expectancy, quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALY), and value. Our
proposal extends our fruitful collaboration with the CT DPH and initiates a new collaboration with the VA DPH,
emphasizing policy options that build on existing infrastructure, in particular OEND, Syringe Exchange Programs
(SEP) where applicable, and settings for MAT. We analyze separately strategies directed at persons who use
opioids (Aim 1) and strategies directed at overdose responders (Aim 2) because these strategies are often distinctly
advocated, funded, administered, and implemented.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10197071
- **Project number:** 5R01DA043815-04
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Ronald Scott Braithwaite
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $641,983
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10197071

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10197071, Reducing morbidity and mortality from overdose, HIV, and hepatitis C in opioid-using persons (5R01DA043815-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10197071. Licensed CC0.

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