---
title: Research Shows the Power of Peers in Recovery
date: 2022-09-15T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/research-shows-the-power-of-peers-in-recovery"
section: Articles
---
# Research Shows the Power of Peers in Recovery

*September 15, 2022* — by [Rachael Grahame ’17](/author/rachael-keeney-17)


> $2.6M NIH Grant Follows Successful Pilot Study on Opioid Use Disorder

*I Stock 1168894271 1920x1080 — A UMD psychologist's study of how peers can assist people engaged in treatment for opioid use disorder will quadruple in the number of participants, thanks to a $2.6 million grant from National Institutes of Health.*

People with opioid use disorder (OUD) are nearly 30% more likely to stick to their treatment plan when they’re paired with someone who has experienced similar challenges, aka a peer recovery specialist, according to recent findings from a University of Maryland psychologist.

Published last month in the [*International Journal of Drug Policy*](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395922002298), the paper by Associate Professor Jessica Magidson details a pilot study focused on helping 37 Baltimore residents to remain engaged in OUD treatment over the course of three months.

The success of the program outlined in the publication resulted in a new $2.6 million award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse through the National Institutes of Health’s Help to End Addiction Long-term [(HEAL) Initiative](https://heal.nih.gov/). Magidson’s team will be able to conduct a second phase of its study that more than quadruples the original number of participants, doubles the time it will follow each one, and brings the project’s five-year funding total to approximately $3.5 million.

“In the past five to 10 years, peer recovery specialist programs have been exploding. This is really exciting, but I think in some ways it’s expanded more quickly than the evidence,” said Magidson who is investigating the efficacy of peer assistance in HIV treatment in another project. “The questions have been: What exactly should peers be doing that is going to be most helpful? What are structured, evidence-based programs that peers can follow that also allow them to still integrate their own lived experience?”

Magidson’s model integrates those experiences—what she calls the “magic ingredient”—into an evidence-based intervention. Known as “behavioral activation,” it helps those receiving treatment identify things they value that are not connected to drugs or alcohol and create day-to-day activities around them that help participants stay the course.


*person uses flipbook*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Psychology](https://today.umd.edu/topic/psychology), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [College of Behavioral and Social Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-behavioral-and-social-sciences)