Reno Reporter

Amidst the nationwide opioid crisis, a University of Nevada, Reno, professor has received grant funding for a harm reduction study aimed at curbing the devastating effects of drug abuse.

According to a press release shared by the University of Nevada, Reno, Professor Karla Wagner, Ph.D., has dedicated years to researching the crisis and now has funding for her harm reduction study. Harm reduction strategies are those that reduce some of the risks associated with drug abuse.

“This research grew out of many years of working to understand how the overdose crisis has impacted people who use drugs,” Wagner said.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the National Institutes of Health, is responsible for funding the award as part of the NIH HEAL Initiative or Helping to End Addiction Long-Term Initiative. The nationwide opioid crisis, which claimed 107,000 lives in the United States in 2021, is being tackled scientifically through research financed by HEAL.

“This project will center the voices of people who have been doing the heroic work of responding to overdoses in their communities,” Wagner said. “We hope to provide actionable strategies for reducing harms and ensuring that the public health response to the overdose crisis is focused on the people who are most acutely affected.”

Moreover, the NIH has formed a research network to evaluate harm reduction strategies in various community settings in order to maximize efforts to help save lives that could be lost to drug overdose in the United States.

Syringe services and naloxone distribution programs are examples of harm reduction strategies that help minimize health and security risks connected to drug use. The impact of these interventions in lowering overdose deaths and other outcomes will be evaluated by researchers in this network as they develop techniques to link drug users with services and therapies.