# RFA-CE-22-011: Mixed methods study of polysubstance use to optimize overdose prevention

> **NIH ALLCDC R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $349,999

## Abstract

Project Summary
Polydrug use (PDU) is increasingly implicated as a crucial factor underlying the U.S. overdose crisis,
responsible for the deaths of over 100,000 Americans in the past year alone. Overdose is still highly
associated with opioid use, but also overwhelmingly occurs in the context of combinations of drugs - notably
stimulants and synthetic opioids. In 2019, the Northeast had the highest proportion of overdose deaths
involving synthetic opioids and the largest absolute increase in stimulant-involved overdose deaths, and the
Maryland overdose rate was among the highest in the country. The overdose prevention infrastructure has not
yet been optimized to address PDU and the heterogeneity of associated experiences. With a multi-level
perspective informed by life course and social network theories, we propose a multi-phase mixed methods
study to examine patterns, trajectories, and risk and protective factors for PDU and overdose among people
with various patterns of stimulant and opioid use. We will use behavioral data from the AIDS Linked to the
IntraVenous Experience (ALIVE) study to identify PDU patterns and trajectories, mixed methods data from the
2019 Statewide Ethnographic Assessment of Drug Use and Services (SEADS) project to identify descriptive
PDU trajectories and contextualize periods of drug use transition and stability, and complementary qualitative
life course data collection (n=100) to explore recent changes and life course events aligned with different types
of PDU, which will in turn inform statistical models of risk and protective factors for PDU types and overdose.
Results from this study will allow program planners to estimate range and scale of heterogeneity among PDU
and begin to disentangle intervention needs of unique sub-groups of PDU. This project will result in specific
recommendations for tailored overdose risk reduction approaches and supportive resources for the
heterogeneous needs of PDU and key turning points of PDU trajectories. We will translate our findings and
conduct broad dissemination, working with local stakeholders, partner organizations, and governmental
agencies to inform overdose and treatment programs in real time and across all three project years.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10833992
- **Project number:** 5R01CE003467-03
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** DANIELLE GERMAN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $349,999
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-30 → 2025-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10833992

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10833992, RFA-CE-22-011: Mixed methods study of polysubstance use to optimize overdose prevention (5R01CE003467-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10833992. Licensed CC0.

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