Peer Recovery Support for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Retention

May 26, 2026 updated by: Rebecca Harris, University of Pennsylvania

Reducing OUD Treatment Dropout: Development and Pilot Test of a Peer Recovery Support Intervention in Primary Care

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether adding peer recovery support services to standard opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment in primary care helps patients stay in treatment longer. The main question it seeks to answer is whether it is feasible to deliver a peer recovery support intervention alongside medication-assisted treatment (buprenorphine) in a Philadelphia primary care clinic.

Participants will receive standard OUD treatment (buprenorphine) combined with peer recovery support services for 180 days. They will attend study visits at baseline, weekly for the first 2 weeks, then every 2 weeks, then monthly, and complete assessments about substance use, medication adherence, self-efficacy, resilience, and coping. Participants will also take part in brief periodic interviews about their experience with peer support.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Enrolling by invitation

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a chronic, relapsing condition associated with substantial morbidity, mortality, and social burden. Buprenorphine, delivered in primary care settings, is an evidence-based treatment for OUD, yet treatment dropout remains a critical barrier to recovery. Many patients disengage during the early weeks following induction, before buprenorphine has had the opportunity to stabilize their condition. Peer recovery support (PRS) services, provided by individuals with lived experience of addiction and recovery, represent a promising strategy to improve retention, but the evidence base for optimized peer interventions in primary care OUD treatment remains limited.

The peer intervention evaluated in this study was developed through a systematic optimization process conducted in partnership with OUD, peer, and implementation experts, with extensive input from patients, practitioners, and community stakeholders. Intervention design drew on surveys and qualitative studies of Philadelphia-region OUD treatment programs with existing peer support services, as well as best practices from community health worker models in other chronic disease settings. Component elements, including peer qualifications, supervision structure, training curriculum, caseload size, scope of services, and care team integration, were systematically evaluated and refined prior to the pilot.

The resulting intervention is organized around five core structural elements: (1) clinically integrated supervision with structured case review; (2) standardized recruitment and hiring practices emphasizing empathy, problem-solving capacity, and community engagement; (3) a competency-based training curriculum covering psychosocial support, crisis response, stigma, interprofessional ethics, social determinants of health, and system navigation; (4) stage-tailored peer-patient contact, with intensive engagement during the high-dropout early induction period transitioning to stabilization-focused support as treatment progresses; and (5) active peer wellness practices to mitigate compassion fatigue and burnout.

This pilot study will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and operational implementation of the intervention within primary care-based buprenorphine treatment programs and generate data to inform a future randomized controlled trial.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
15

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • Penn Family Medicine

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18 years or older
  • Diagnosis of opioid use disorder (OUD)
  • Currently receiving or initiating buprenorphine treatment from a primary care physician
  • Able to communicate in English
  • Access to a phone
  • Able and willing to provide written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Acute suicidal ideation or intent
  • Active mania or psychotic episode
  • Significant cognitive impairment

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Peer Support
Behavioral: Peer Support
Peer recovery support services delivered by trained, certified peers with lived experience of opioid use disorder, added to standard medication-assisted treatment (buprenorphine) in a primary care setting. Peer services are structured around three stages of OUD treatment (initial engagement, early treatment, and stable treatment) with contact intensity tailored to dropout risk at each stage (approximately 2 contact hours/week during initial engagement). Contact modalities include in-office meetings, phone calls, texts, and appointment reminders. Peers are supervised and integrated as full members of the clinical care team. The intervention was developed with input from OUD, peer, and implementation experts and informed by qualitative and survey data from Philadelphia-region OUD treatment programs. Caseload: approximately 15 patients per peer. Duration: 180 days.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
OUD treatment retention
Time Frame: 180 days
Retention in OUD treatment measured as time in days from treatment initiation (buprenorphine induction) to dropout (unplanned treatment termination) or treatment completion over the 180-day study period.
180 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Self-report opioid use
Time Frame: 180 days
Assessed using an abbreviated 30-day Time-Line Follow-Back (TLFB) instrument capturing self-reported opioid use at each study visit.
180 days
Buprenorphine adherence
Time Frame: 180 days
Assessed using the Brief Medication Questionnaire (self-report).
180 days
Resilience, coping, and self-efficacy
Time Frame: 180 days
A 30-item composite questionnaire combining three patient-centered outcome domains to minimize participant burden. Section 1 (Resilience, 10 items) uses a 5-point Likert scale rating the past month, with 4 items reverse-scored; scores range from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating greater resilience. Section 2 (Coping Strategies, 10 items adapted from the Brief COPE) uses a 4-point scale rating frequency of coping strategy use, including a substance use item; scores range from 10 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater frequency of coping strategy use. Section 3 (Abstinence Self-Efficacy, 10 items adapted from the Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scale) uses a 5-point confidence scale assessing ability to remain opioid-free across situational triggers over the past week; scores range from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating greater confidence in maintaining opioid abstinence.
180 days
Opioid urine drug screen positivity
Time Frame: 180 days
Proportion of urine drug screens positive for opioids, obtained at routine clinical visits throughout the study period.
180 days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Pennsylvania

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Rebecca A Harris, MD, University of Pennsylvania

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 9, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 13, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 26, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 2, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 2, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 26, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 858768
  • K23DA054157 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared. This is a small pilot feasibility study involving participants with opioid use disorder, a population for whom confidentiality protections are particularly important given the sensitivity of substance use data and potential risks of stigma and discrimination. The sample is too small for effective de-identification of individual-level data. Aggregate descriptive findings will be reported in publications.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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