NCT03895827

Recovery Initiation and Management After Overdose (RIMO) Experiment

Recovery Initiation and Management After Overdose (RIMO) Experiment: Phase 2 Main Clinical Trial (R33)

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 251 (actual)
• Sponsor: Chestnut Health Systems · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This study targets individuals in Chicago who have received naloxone administered by first responders within the past week to reverse an overdose, but who have not entered into MAT. Study participants will be recruited through partnerships with the Chicago Fire Department (CFD) and/or Police Department (CPD); first responders will be trained to seek consent from individuals who are alert and oriented after receiving naloxone for future contacts by research staff as part of the naloxone standard protocol. Those who consent will be contacted and screened for study eligibility ideally within one week of naloxone administration; eligible participants will be randomly assigned either to the control group, i.e., referral to MAT as usual, or to Recovery Initiation and Management after Overdose (RIMO), an assertive linkage and recovery support intervention. This intervention builds on an evidence-based intervention for treatment linkage, monitoring, and recovery support evaluated in 3 prior clinical trials by the study team.

Detailed description

Research staff will work with the Chicago Fire Department's Emergency Medical Services division and the Chicago Police Department to identify people who have just had an opioid overdose reversed with naloxone, recruit them into the trial, randomize them to a passive referral (via a brochure) vs. the RIMO experimental group. Using the study recruitment and RIMO procedures refined in Phase 1, a total of 350 individuals will be recruited and randomly assigned to the "referral to MAT" control or to "RIMO". All participants will receive standardized assessments at baseline and 3, 6, and 9 months post-randomization. The study's aims and their associated hypotheses are: Aim 1: Evaluate RIMO's direct effect on linkage to MAT, length of time on MAT, dropout, and total days of MAT. H1: Relative to the control group, RIMO will have a direct effect on: a) initiating MAT sooner, b) staying on medication longer, c) reducing dropout, and d) receiving more total days of MAT. Aim 2: Evaluate RIMO's direct and indirect (via MAT) effects on time to relapse, opioid use, and opioid-related overdose. H2: RIMO will have direct and indirect (via days of MAT treatment) effects on: a) time to relapse, b) days of opioid use, and c) number of overdoses. Aim 3: RIMO's direct and indirect (via MAT and opioid use) effects on opioid-related fatalities, opioid use disorder (OUD) symptoms, physical health, mental health and the cost of health care utilization. H3: RIMO will have direct and indirect (via days of MAT treatment and days of opioid use) effects on: a) opioid-related fatalities, b) opioid use disorders symptoms, c) physical health, d) mental health, and e) cost of health care utilization.

Conditions

• Opioid-use Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Recovery Initiation and Management after Overdose (RIMO)	RIMO uses motivational interviewing and linkage assistance techniques to get people who have had a recent opioid overdose reversal to go to medication-assisted treatment (MAT), stay in MAT, and, if they drop out, go back to MAT treatment.
OTHER	Passive Referral to Treatment Control	Currently neither first responders or emergency department staff regularly refer people to any kind of substance use after an opioid overdose reversal. In the passive referral condition they will at least get a brochure with information on recently expanded and publicly-funded medication-assisted treatment in their community.

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-04-01
• Primary completion: 2024-06-23
• Completion: 2025-06-26
• First posted: 2019-03-29
• Last updated: 2026-03-18

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States