The Peer-Based Retention of People Who Use Drugs in Rural Research

This study builds on the National Rural Opioids Initiative (NROI), a multi-state consortium
studying access to care, overdose, and infectious consequences of opioid use disorder (OUD)
in Rural America. It includes counties in rural Oregon and Appalachian Kentucky and Ohio with
high rates of drug overdose.

Aim 1: Conduct a randomized trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a peer-driven study
retention intervention for retaining PWUD in Kentucky, Ohio, and Oregon Rural Opioid
Initiative sites.

Aim 2: Elicit preferences of PWUD in the Kentucky, Ohio, and Oregon Rural Opioid Initiative
sites Aim 2a: Administer baseline survey of discrete choice experiment preferences for
participating in clinical trials of potential medical innovations (e.g. new treatments for
OUD, HIV, and HCV vaccination). Aim 2a will be accomplished as part of the NROI studies. The
data will then be merged for PROUD-R² analyses.

Aim 2b: Compare participant survey preferences regarding willingness to participate in
clinical trials at baseline, 6, and 12 months.

Aim 3: Explore participant perceptions of clinical research participation and retention among
PWUD in rural America.

Inclusion Criteria:

- NROI eligibility criteria: Participants are eligible to enroll in the NROI if they 1)
live in the study area, 2) have recently injected drugs or report opioid use to get
high without injection, and 3) are age 18 or older.

NROI participants enrolled after April 2019 are eligible to participate in this study if
they successfully refer at least on other participant within 3 months of NROI enrollment,
or are a part of a respondent-driven sampling chain. No eligible participants are excluded.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Under 18 years of age