Notice Number: NOT-DA-19-007

Key Dates
Release Date : November 27, 2018

Response Date: December 27, 2018

Issued by
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Purpose

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is requesting feedback from researchers, community stakeholders, and other interested public parties regarding the type of epidemiologic information that would be most useful to understand the opioid crisis and to inform prevention and treatment efforts. Opioids include prescription and illicit opioids, such as heroin, illicitly manufactured fentanyl, and related analogs.

Background

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the NIDA have committed considerable effort and resources to address the opioid epidemic, the prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD), opioid-related overdoses and other adverse consequences. The development of better medications for the treatment of pain and OUD, as well as identifying more effective ways of implementing existing interventions are important directions to stem the crisis, yet it is highly unlikely that the opioid epidemic will be resolved without a comprehensive understanding of the multiple causes of the epidemic; development of integrative etiological models; examination of the changing course of the crisis; and use of advanced modeling and predictive analytics to inform intervention development, implementation and deployment of services, and to provide policy-makers with unbiased, up-to-date, actionable information.

Information Requested

Public comment is sought to prioritize research that would accelerate characterization of the opioid crisis and optimize effectiveness of prevention and treatment intervention for all subgroups of users. A sampling of research topics we seek to illuminate with assistance of your feedback includes, but is not limited to the following:

• Characterizations of subgroups that may be impacted by the opioid epidemic
• Detailed descriptions of risk factors, course, patterns of treatment-seeking, service availability and utilization, and how they differ among the various characterizations.
• Development of integrated etiological models, and understanding of how do risk factors interact with each other.
• Identifying the impact of the above factors and comorbidities on clinical trajectories and longer-term outcomes.
• Utilizing epidemiologic data effectively to inform preventive interventions and vice versa.

Detailed data on diverse using populations is critical for informing development of targeted prevention and treatment strategies, their successful implementation, and to aid decisions of public health officials and other policy makers.

How to Submit a Response

Responses will be accepted until December 27, 2018, via e-mail to: [email protected]. Please mark your responses with the RFI identifier NOT-DA-19-007. Respondents will receive an automated e-mail confirmation acknowledging receipt of their response but will not receive individual feedback.

Any identifiers (e.g. names, institutions, e-mail addresses, etc.) will be removed when responses are compiled. Only the processed, anonymized results will be shared internally with NIDA and NIH program staff and participating leadership across the Department of Health and Human Services, as appropriate. Nonetheless, no proprietary information should be submitted.

Responses to this RFI are voluntary. This RFI is for planning purposes only and should not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Federal Government, the National Institutes of Health, or individual NIH Institutes or Centers. The NIH does not intend to make any type of award based on responses to this RFI or to pay for either the preparation of information submitted or the Government’s use of such information.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Marsha F. Lopez, PhD, MHS
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Telephone: 301-443-6504
Email: [email protected]