RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery recently said it will take part in a new project funded by the National Institutes of Health Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative. The project will create new research centers to support communities most affected by the pain, opioid and overdose crises with the goal of providing lasting, scientific solutions to the opioid crisis through evidence-based scientific research.
Institute for Prevention and Recovery will serve as one of 67 national community partners that will focus on how to best to link community recovery organizations with proven tools and deliver lay-friendly, culturally appropriate information to communities most impacted by addiction.
A key component of the new HEAL Research Dissemination and Engagement Center is to build bridges between HEAL researchers and community partners to make the results of research available to communities impacted by the opioid epidemic.
The center will work closely with HEAL-funded scientists, the HEAL Data Ecosystem, and community partners to translate data and findings to address the needs and priorities of communities standing to benefit most from HEAL research. This will form the foundation for meaningful, two-way communications throughout the life cycle of HEAL projects—from developing research ideas to sharing findings. A focus on health equity will underpin the center’s work at every level.
“We are honored to be among those selected to participate in NIH HEAL Initiative’s new project which will create an online Research Dissemination and Engagement Center (R-DEC), to directly communicate the latest scientific findings to communities most affected by pain, opioid use, overdoses, and related conditions,” Connie Greene, senior vice president, RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery said. “The project aligns with our ongoing goal to effectively address the intersection of pain and addiction and improve outcomes for individuals, families, and communities impacted by the pain, opioid and overdose crises.”
The HEAL R-DEC is co-led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) and George Mason University’s HEAL Accelerator Team, which also includes the Addiction Policy Forum, Oregon Social Learning Center, University of Wisconsin, University of Alabama Birmingham, Temple University, and the University of North Texas Health Science Center.
The Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) will lead research dissemination efforts for the center under the direction of Lindsay Singler, director of research communications, and coordinate project management activities under the direction of Jesse Hickerson, manager of Clinical Trial Operations, and partner on engagement activities with support from Community-Campus Partnerships for Health under the direction of Renee Leverty, head of DCRI Research Together.
The DCRI will co-lead engagement activities for the center in partnership with the George Mason University HEAL Accelerator Team led by principal investigator Faye Taxman, University Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government and Director of the Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence (ACE!), her co-investigator team, and 67 community collaborator groups.
