PATH to Reducing Burnout Among Peers Who Deliver Overdose Prevention Services (R61 Phase Pilot)

NCT07218562 | Completed Phase 2 Results

• 1 other identifier: R61DA061340
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 18
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The investigators propose to develop and test the effectiveness of PATH (Peer Advanced Training for total Health) as an educational workforce intervention for improving peer recovery support specialists' (PRSS) overdose prevention (OP) service delivery ability and quality and as a PRSS workforce and service system support. The PATH intervention combines (a) virtual education and (b) case-based consultation. The investigators hypothesize that PATH will improve organizational-level PRSS burnout, additional workforce outcomes, and OP service quality.

Conditions

Burnout; Compassion Satisfaction; Secondary Trauma

Keywords

peer recovery support specialist; opioid use disorder; substance use disorder; overdose prevention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Acceptability, Appropriateness, and Feasibility

  Measured using the Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM), Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM), and Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM), 12 validated items measuring participants' level of agreement (1/Completely disagree - 5/Completely agree) with the intervention's relevance, practicality, and fit for their work. Each of the three scales (AIM, IAM, and FIM) contains 4 questions and is scored by averaging responses. Each has a minimum score of 1 and a maximum score of 5. Higher scores indicate higher perceived levels of Acceptability, Appropriateness, or Feasibility of the intervention.

  At the conclusion of PATH eLearning modules, approximately 1 month post-baseline

• Acceptability, Appropriateness, and Feasibility

  Measured using the Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM), Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM), and Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM), 12 validated items measuring participants' level of agreement (1/Completely disagree - 5/Completely agree) with the intervention's relevance, practicality, and fit for their work. Each of the three scales (AIM, IAM, and FIM) contains 4 questions and is scored by averaging responses. Each has a minimum score of 1 and a maximum score of 5. Higher scores indicate higher perceived levels of Acceptability, Appropriateness, or Feasibility of the intervention.

  At the conclusion of PATH ECHO sessions, approximately 3 months post-baseline

• Training Satisfaction

  Measured using the Training Satisfaction Questionnaire, a custom 5-point Likert-scale (1/Totally disagree - 5/Totally agree) survey with 12-items assessing overall satisfaction with the learning experience, content relevance, and applicability to peer support practice. The questionnaire includes 3 sub-scales: Objectives and Content (3 items), Methods and Training Context (6 items), and Usefulness and Overall Rating (3 items). Each sub-scale is scored by averaging responses and has a minimum score of 1 and a maximum score of 5. Higher scores indicate higher levels of satisfaction with the training.

  At the conclusion of PATH eLearning modules, approximately 1 month post-baseline

• Training Satisfaction

  Measured using the Training Satisfaction Questionnaire, a custom 5-point Likert-scale (1/Totally disagree - 5/Totally agree) survey with 12-items assessing overall satisfaction with the learning experience, content relevance, and applicability to peer support practice. The questionnaire includes 3 sub-scales: Objectives and Content (3 items), Methods and Training Context (6 items), and Usefulness and Overall Rating (3 items). Each sub-scale is scored by averaging responses and has a minimum score of 1 and a maximum score of 5. Higher scores indicate higher levels of satisfaction with the training.

  At the conclusion of PATH ECHO sessions, approximately 3 months post-baseline

Secondary Outcomes (18)

• Job Crafting

  Baseline

• Job Crafting

  At the conclusion of PATH eLearning modules, approximately 1 month post-baseline

• Job Crafting

  At the conclusion of PATH ECHO sessions, approximately 3 months post-baseline

• Overdose Prevention Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills

  Baseline

• Overdose Prevention Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills

  At the conclusion of PATH eLearning modules, approximately 1 month post-baseline

Study Arms (1)

PATH pilot participants

EXPERIMENTAL

Receive PATH pilot intervention

Behavioral: PATH (Peer Advanced Training for total Health)

Interventions

PATH (Peer Advanced Training for total Health) BEHAVIORAL

PATH is an educational workforce intervention for improving peer recovery support specialists' (PRSS) overdose prevention (OP) service delivery ability and quality and as a PRSS workforce and service system support. PATH will include 4 hours of eLearning modules completed within a 1-month period, as well as 8 weekly ECHO sessions lasting 1.5 hours each delivered over 2 months. Each ECHO session includes a 30-minute presentation followed by one hour of case-based discussion about a real client or problem. The entire PATH intervention will take 16 hours (4 hours of eLearning and 12 hours of ECHO participation) over 3 months. Participants are expected to complete all 16 hours, completing the 4 hours of eLearning before starting the 12 hours of ECHO activities.

PATH pilot participants

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• current PRSS staff or administrator employed by a partnering Recovery Community Organization (RCO)
• is at least 18 years of age.

You may not qualify if:

• none

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Chestnut Health Systems: lead
• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Chestnut Health Systems Lighthouse Institute

Chicago, Illinois, 60610, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Burnout, Psychological; Compassion Fatigue; Opioid-Related Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Stress, Psychological; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Mental Fatigue; Fatigue; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Occupational Stress; Narcotic-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Dennis Watson
• Organization: Chestnut Health Systems

dpwatson@chestnut.org

312-274-5316

Study Officials

• Dennis P Watson, PhD

  Chestnut Health Systems

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: phase 2
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Senior Research Scientist

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 30, 2025
• First Posted: October 20, 2025
• Study Start: January 12, 2026
• Primary Completion: May 8, 2026
• Study Completion: May 8, 2026
• Last Updated: October 2, 2026
• Results First Posted: October 2, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF
• Access Criteria: The study protocol, statistical analysis plan, and informed consent form will be made publicly available on Open Science Framework.

Locations

US (1)