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Identifying Suspected Drug Overdose Deaths in Near Real-Time Using Data Collected by Death Investigators

Award Number: R01DA057685
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/30/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2027

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Identifying Suspected Drug Overdose Deaths in Near Real-Time Using Data Collected by Death Investigators - This study is part of the NIH’s Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) initiative to speed scientific solutions to the national opioid public health crisis. The NIH HEAL Initiative bolsters research across NIH to improve treatment for opioid misuse and addiction. Drug overdose death rates have reached a record high. Effective responses to the overdose epidemic require accurate and timely drug overdose surveillance data. Death certificates are the foundation of overdose mortality surveillance; however, long turnaround times for issuing finalized death certificates in suspected drug-related deaths hinders surveillance activities and prevents rapid responses by public health programs. Coroners and medical examiners (C/MEs) play a critical role in generating data for the medical certification section of death certificates. These data are routinely collected immediately after the overdose fatality occurs and provide an opportunity to rapidly examine the circumstances of death and inform time-sensitive activities in response to fatal overdoses. The New York City (NYC) Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) developed a tool that uses data generated during death investigations to identify drug overdose deaths in near real-time. This tool, named the Suspected Potential Overdose Tracker (SPOT), uses a small number of variables routinely collected by death investigators in a rigorous and reproducible algorithm to rapidly predict whether a death was an unintentional drug overdose. While preliminary findings show that SPOT is highly promising for identifying fatal overdoses in near real-time, there is a need to further enhance the tool, examine its performance across different subpopulations, and assess its performance and usability outside of NYC. Thus, this study aims to (1) Optimize SPOT through additional data from the NYC OCME to improve performance of the tool and develop advanced features using natural language processing; (2) Assess barriers and facilitators of adopting SPOT in preparation for its deployment through semi-structured interviews with primary and secondary users of SPOT data; and (3) Evaluate the usability and performance of SPOT in C/ME offices across New York State, including counties involved in the NIDA-funded HEALing Communities Study. The public health implications of adopting this tool are significant: 1) it allows for near real-time monitoring of overdose fatality levels and detection of atypical patterns; 2) it provides a mechanism for expedited outreach to family and friends of overdose decedents who may be at high risk for overdose; 3) it allows for identification of gaps in overdose response preparedness and data-driven decision making of public health and public safety agencies; and 4) it affords opportunities for evaluation and consistent information exchange of overdose prevention interventions, programs and policies. If found successful, the SPOT methodology can be readily disseminated to other states to enhance surveillance of drug overdose mortality. This project is highly responsive to a top NIDA research priority, and directly addresses one of the nation’s most challenging public health crises.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $677,620 )
2025	2025	FRIENDS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC	1040 PARK AVE STE 103	BALTIMORE	MD	21201	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	2	9/3/2025	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$677,620
														Subtotal = $677,620

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $157,603 )
2024	2024	FRIENDS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC.	1040 PARK AVE	BALTIMORE	MD	21201	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	1	9/6/2024	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$157,603
														Subtotal = $157,603

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $2,099,989 )
2022	2022	FRIENDS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC	1040 PARK AVE STE 103	BALTIMORE	MD	21201	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	1	9/20/2022	NEW	$2,099,989
														Subtotal = $2,099,989

Grand Total All Awards = $2,935,212

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Identifying Suspected Drug Overdose Deaths in Near Real-Time Using Data Collected by Death Investigators

Award Number: R01DA057685

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/30/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2027

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