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. 2025 Jul 1:272:112671.
doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.112671. Epub 2025 Apr 17.

An economic analysis of community costs incurred to implement the communities that HEAL intervention to reduce opioid overdose deaths in four states

HEALing Communities Study Consortium; Joshua A Barocas  1 , Arnie Aldridge  2 , Karrie F Adkins  3 , Carolina Barbosa  2 , Tracy A Battaglia  4 , Joshua Bush  3 , Mathieu Castry  5 , Grace Corry  6 , Thomas Clarke  7 , Nabila El-Bassel  8 , Wilson Figueroa  9 , Darcy A Freedman  10 , Bridget Freisthler  11 , Brent Gibbons  2 , Erin B Gibson  12 , LaShawn Glasgow  2 , Kristin Harlow  13 , Timothy R Huerta  9 , Timothy Hunt  8 , Richard Johnson  14 , Elizabeth Larimore  3 , Benjamin P Linas  15 , Jackson M Luckey  16 , Ivan Montoya  17 , Sean M Murphy  6 , Emmanuel Oga  2 , Erica Onuoha  6 , Steve Orme  2 , Danielle Ryan  6 , Bruce R Schackman  6 , Eric E Seiber  9 , Mendel Singer  10 , Drew Speer  3 , Laura Starbird  18 , Yjuliana Tin  19 , Jennifer Villani  7 , Sharon L Walsh  20 , Colleen Watson  2 , Gary A Zarkin  2 , Kathryn McCollister  21
Affiliations

An economic analysis of community costs incurred to implement the communities that HEAL intervention to reduce opioid overdose deaths in four states

HEALing Communities Study Consortium et al. Drug Alcohol Depend. .

Abstract

Background: The HEALing Communities Study (HCS) was conducted across four states with the goal of decreasing opioid-related overdose deaths by increasing community-level adoption of evidence-based practices (EBPs). Providing communities with training, technical assistance, and resources to aid them in addressing opioid overdoses was central to the Communities That HEAL (CTH) intervention. The intervention included 1) community engagement (CE) to facilitate data-driven EBP selection and implementation, 2) a menu of EBPs to implement, and 3) communication campaigns.

Methods: We performed an economic cost analysis for the 33 communities implementing CTH over a 30-month intervention period in Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio. Cost data were obtained from community members, consultants, and research faculty and staff. This study focuses on the communities' perspective and reports costs paid directly with HCS funds and the opportunity costs of community members' time and other unreimbursed resources. We report average costs across communities and for each component of the CTH.

Results: The average cost per community of CE was $1030,405, EBPs was $668,030, and communication campaigns was $235,915. The total community cost of CE was $34,003,373, of EBP implementation was $22,044,987, of communications campaign was $7785,182.

Conclusions: Our study provides insight into the scope and value of resources incurred to implement community-based interventions to reduce opioid overdose deaths across four states.

Keywords: Community engagement; Economic analysis; Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL)®; Opioid overdose deaths.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have nothing to declare.

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