An interventional study of Peer recovery coaching with linkage to recovery resources and Usual Care in Substance Use Disorders, sponsored by Emory University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-12-17.
Sponsored by Emory University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
This is a 3-arm randomized controlled trial. Participants will be randomized via a maximally tolerated imbalance randomization procedure using NCI's Clinical Trial Randomization Tool with 1:1:1 allocation to each group: in-person peer recovery coaching (PRC) with linkage to recovery resources, telemedicine-based peer recovery coaching with linkage to recovery resources, or usual care.
In the PRC arms, PRCs will meet patients at bedside (in person) or via a tablet-based video call (telemedicine). They will assess the participant's state of change, engage in motivational interviewing techniques, and link the participant to community-based recovery resources according to the needs of the participant. They will also schedule and perform follow up calls after the participant is discharged from the ED to provide ongoing support and facilitate re-linkage to recovery resources, if needed.
Participants in the usual care arm will be provided with a list of community recovery resources, but there will be no PRC interaction or direct linkage to resources through the study.
Follow up visits will take place at 7, 30, and 90 days after enrollment. Most will take place via telephone, but participants will be given the option of an in-person visit if they so desire.
Deaths from drug overdose have risen to record levels since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionately impacting Black individuals and people experiencing homelessness. Fewer than one-third of the 8.3 million individuals living with an illicit drug use disorder in 2019 reported receiving treatment. Telemedicine services have increased access to care for many patients living with substance use disorders (SUD), but the long-term role of this treatment approach in SUD care is uncertain. Multifaceted strategies are needed to build recovery capital and link vulnerable individuals to recovery resources.
Emergency department (ED) visits are an opportunity to screen for SUDs, initiate treatment, and link to recovery resources. Observational studies have noted that consultation with a peer recovery coach (PRC) was well-received in EDs, with high rates of engagement and satisfaction. PRCs facilitate conversations allowing patients to express their ideal pathway to recovery, provide linkage to services across the social ecology, and follow up to support recovery, including re-linkage to resources as needed. Nonetheless, their role in ED screening and linkage to resources, including the potential role of telemedicine, has not been rigorously evaluated.
The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial enrolling 600 subjects across three arms: in-person peer coaching with linkage to recovery support services and callbacks, telemedicine-based peer coaching with linkage and callbacks, or usual care. Results will inform other EDs considering a peer recovery coach program for patients presenting with SUD-related conditions. By utilizing telemedicine, this model will be rapidly scalable and readily implemented at other facilities.
2,124 studies on the registry are indexed under Substance-Related Disorders; 393 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 144 is above the median of 108 across 1,727 interventional studies indexed under Substance-Related Disorders.
Browse Substance-Related Disorders studies →Emory University is the lead sponsor of 1,386 studies on the registry; 236 are open to participants now.
Of its 229 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 174 (76%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Exclusion Criteria:
PRCs will meet patients at bedside (in person). They will also schedule and perform follow up calls after the participant is discharged from the ED to provide ongoing support and facilitate re-linkage to recovery resources, if needed. Follow-up data collection on day 7, 30, 90 post discharge.
Behavioral: Peer recovery coaching with linkage to recovery resources
PRCs will meet patients via a tablet-based video call (telemedicine). They will also schedule and perform follow up calls after the participant is discharged from the ED to provide ongoing support and facilitate re-linkage to recovery resources, if needed. Follow-up data collection on day 7, 30, 90 post discharge.
Behavioral: Peer recovery coaching with linkage to recovery resources
Participants in the usual care arm will be provided with a list of community recovery resources. No callbacks or re-linkage to recovery resources. Follow-up data collection on day 7, 30, 90 post discharge.
Behavioral: Usual Care
Peer recovery coach (PRC) assessment of the participant's state of change, engage in motivational interviewing techniques, and link the participant to community-based recovery resources according to the needs of the participant. They will also schedule and perform follow up calls after the participant is discharged from the ED to provide ongoing support and facilitate re-linkage to recovery resources, if needed.
Participants will be provided with a list of community recovery resources.
Change in number of participants with successful linkage to at least one recovery resource
Change in number of participants with successful linkage to at least one recovery resource (formal addiction treatment, Recovery Community Organization (RCO), or harm reduction organization) at 30 days and 90 days after enrollment.
Time frame: Baseline, 30 and 90 days after enrollment
Change in Brief Assessment of Recovery Capital (BARC-10)
This outcome will be evaluated obtaining a score on a scale. The range of possible responses is 10-60. Higher score correlates with better outcome.
Time frame: Baseline, 7, 30, and 90 days after enrollment
Change in number of successful engagements with PRC after ED visit
Change in number of successful engagements with PRC (peer recovery coach) after ED visit
Time frame: Baseline, 7, 30, and 90 days after enrollment
Change in number of episodes of re-linkage to recovery resources
Change in number of episodes of re-linkage to recovery resources
Time frame: Baseline, 7, 30, and 90 days post intervention
Self-reported substance use in last 30 days
Self-reported substance use in last 30 days as measured by Timeline Follow-back (TLFB). It will be reported in number of episodes per day.
Time frame: Baseline, 30 and 90 days post intervention
Number of fatal overdose events
Number of fatal overdose events will be collected
Time frame: 90 days post intervention
Number of nonfatal overdose events
Number of nonfatal overdose events will be collected
Time frame: 90 days post intervention
Number of Emergency Department (ED) visits
Number of ED visits will be collected
Time frame: 90 days post intervention
Number of hospitalizations
Number of hospitalizations will be collected
Time frame: 90 days post intervention
Change in employment status
Choices include: disabled, employed 32 hours or more per week, employed less than 32 hours per week, full-time student, homemaker, on medical leave, only temporarily laid off/sick leave/maternity leave, other, part-time student, retired, unemployed, and unknown. This outcome would measure a change in employment status from any of the choices to another one.
Time frame: 90 days post intervention
Change in number of participants based on Housing status
Housing status will be reported specifying one of the categories: apartment, Single family house, homeless, shelter, dormitory, multifamily house. Number of participants will be reported in each category at 0, 7, 30, 90 days post intervention.
Time frame: Baseline, 7, 30, and 90 days post intervention
Change in Social connections and isolation score
Social isolation scores range from 0 to 4, with 0 representing the highest level of social isolation and 4 representing the lowest level.
Time frame: Baseline, 7, 30, 90 days post intervention
Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.
Plan to share: Yes — Data sharing will be initiated upon written request to the PI and would ultimately be shared via a secure portal such as Microsoft OneDrive. Deidentified data files, the data dictionary, and the final protocol will be uploaded to the Emory Dataverse, which is a long-term repository offered through a partnership between Emory and the Odum Institute at the University of North Carolina and Chapel Hill. This repository has policies and procedures in place that will provide data access to qualified researchers, fully consistent with federal data sharing policies and applicable laws and regulations. Datasets are uniquely named with a persistent digital object identifier (DOI), and are downloadable directly through a web-based interface. Additional data documentation and de-identified data will be deposited for sharing along with data consistent with applicable laws and regulations. Submitted data will confirm with relevant data and terminology standards.
Supporting information: Study protocol
This study is completed, as verified in Dec 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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