Including community partners in the development and adaptation of intervention strategies to prevent initiation or escalation of opioid misuse

Abstract

Current literature lacks clear examples of how to engage with communities in the development of opioid misuse interventions for diverse populations and across various settings. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative (HEAL) Prevention Cooperative (HPC) research projects work collaboratively with communities to develop and adapt their opioid misuse interventions to increase both feasibility and sustainability. Ten HPC projects were selected to receive NIH funding and are required to have partnerships with communities where their intervention is being conducted. This paper applies the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-adapted Public Participation Framework to examine the levels of community engagement used by each of these 10 HPC projects (Clinical and Translational Science Awards Consortium Community Engagement Key Function Committee Task Force on the Principles of Community Engagement, 2015). Using this framework, this paper illustrates the range of community engagement approaches and levels that the HPC projects rely on to develop, adapt, and adopt opioid prevention interventions across diverse populations and settings. This paper also lays a foundation for future examinations of the role of community engagement in intervention implementation and effectiveness and the level of community engagement that is necessary to improve intervention effectiveness.