Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41668117›Full record

Trial reportAddiction science & clinical practice2026

Study protocol for a randomized trial examining a peer grief support approach for people grieving drug overdose deaths.

Karen Chan Osilla, Katherine E Watkins, Tanya Lord, Glen Lord, Franklin Cook, Katherine Nameth, Jane P Kim, Wendy Hawkins, Alison Athey

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Addiction science & clinical practice, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06854757 (Families Left Behind), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT06854757 narecruitingnot on this map

Families Left Behind: Addressing Prolonged Grief and Substance Use Disorders Among People Bereaved by Drug Overdose Deaths

TypeinterventionalSponsorRANDRan2025 to 2030Enrolled340ConditionsGrief, Grief Disorder, Prolonged, Overdose Accidental, Substance Use DisordersArmsRIVER, Enhanced care as usual
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Karen Chan OsillaDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94305, USA. kosilla@stanford.edu.
Katherine E WatkinsRAND, 1776 Main Street, PO Box 2136, Santa Monica, CA , 90407-2138, USA.
Tanya LordPeer Support Community Partners, 3 Sanborn Drive, Nashua, NH, 03063, USA.
Glen LordPeer Support Community Partners, 3 Sanborn Drive, Nashua, NH, 03063, USA.
Franklin CookPeer Support Community Partners, 3 Sanborn Drive, Nashua, NH, 03063, USA.
Katherine NamethDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94305, USA.
Jane P KimDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94305, USA.
Wendy HawkinsRAND, 1200 S Hayes St, Arlington, VA, 22202, USA.
Alison AtheyRAND, 1200 S Hayes St, Arlington, VA, 22202, USA.

Funding

Families left behind: Addressing prolonged grief and substance use disorders among people bereaved by drug overdose deathsR61DA062335 · NIDA · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI ATHEY, ALISON, OSILLA, KAREN CHAN · 2024 to 2024
$1.3M
NIDA NIH HHS R61 DA062335NIDA NIH HHS R61DA062335
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPeople bereaved by drug overdose experience a “special grief” that includes guilt, shame, and blame for their loved one’s death, which often compounds suffering and interferes with help-seeking. This population is vulnerable to poor health outcomes including prolonged grief disorder, risky substance use, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Peer grief support may reduce risks in people bereaved by overdose by buffering grievers from the negative effects of increased stigma and isolation. Peer Support Community Partners has developed the RIVER peer grief support model for bereavement. The model has been implemented successfully in the community and for drug overdose bereavement, but has not yet been rigorously tested.

methodsThe current study is a two-phased project that aims to test whether the RIVER peer grief support approach improves health outcomes in those grieving drug overdose deaths. In the first phase, we will prepare for and conduct a pilot test of the RIVER peer grief support approach. We will also assess an innovative mechanism for engaging grievers through Medical Examiners Offices (MEOs). In the second phase, we will compare enhanced usual care (EUC) to EUC plus RIVER peer grief support (RIVER) in a randomized controlled trial.

conclusionsThe study aims to build the science of overdose bereavement and provide increased support for a vulnerable population of grievers.

trial registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06854757 (02/25/2025).

Indexed as

Drug OverdoseGriefPeer GroupSocial SupportGrief TherapyHumansDeathDrug overdoseFamily therapyGriefPeer support

Identifiers

PMID41668117
PMCPMC12895636

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.