NIH's $1.6 Billion HEALing Trial Fails to Reduce Overdose Deaths

Jun 16, 2024, 02:35 PM

A federal study led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) aimed at reducing opioid overdose deaths has not achieved its intended outcomes. The $1.6 billion initiative, part of the HEALing trial, sought to decrease opioid-related fatalities by 40% in 67 U.S. communities with high death rates from opioid overdoses. However, the intervention, which focused on increasing the use of evidence-based practices, did not result in a meaningful reduction in fatal drug overdoses. Study leaders suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic may have been a contributing factor to the lack of success. The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.