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Rural Community Peer Partnerships for Improving Methamphetamine-Associated Heart Failure Screening and Engagement

Rural Community Peer Partnerships for Improving Methamphetamine-Associated Heart Failure Screening and Engagement

Status
Recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06461962
Acronym
PEER-Heart
Enrollment
200
Registered
2024-06-17
Start date
2024-08-19
Completion date
2029-06-30
Last updated
2025-03-21

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Heart Failure, Methamphetamine Use

Keywords

Screening, Implementation Science, Heart Failure, Addiction, Stimulants, Health Services, Community Engaged Research

Brief summary

The goal of PEER-Heart is to implement and assess feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a community peer-facilitated screening for methamphetamine-associated heart failure (MAHF) and linkage to evidence-based cardiology care for people who use methamphetamine in rural areas.

Detailed description

Methamphetamine use has increased across the US in the midst of the opioid crisis, with rates of methamphetamine use in rural communities exceeding that in urban areas. Nationwide, methamphetamine-related hospitalizations increased 270% between 2007 and 2015, along with associated costs, lengths of stay and mortality. Methamphetamine-associated heart failure (MAHF) hospitalizations increased 12-fold over this time period; it is associated with worse symptoms (e.g. ejection fraction) and decreased adherence to guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) compared to heart failure not associated with methamphetamine use. Despite the increased risk of heart failure and overdose for people who use methamphetamine in rural areas, interventions to improve engagement in cardiac screening and treatment services are underdeveloped. Multiple barriers decrease access to cardiac care in rural communities, including social determinants of health and health systems care delivery barriers. Stigma and distrust of healthcare providers, particularly in rural communities are known barriers to engaging in medical care-COVID-19 has only worsened this gap for people who use drugs. Team-based cardiology care interventions can improve outcomes for people with heart failure, including one multi-disciplinary program that focused on methamphetamine-associated heart failure MAHF. However, these interventions have been tested in urban, higher resourced settings than those typical in rural communities. Interventions for screening and linkage to care for people who use drugs in rural areas with MAHF have not been developed. The experiential credentialing afforded by peer recovery support specialists (peers) offers a unique opportunity to reach, engage, and retain non-treatment-seeking people using drugs. The PEER-Heart study extends the role of peers as trusted community health workers in rural communities to improve MAHF screening and linkage to cardiology care. Increasing evidence reports feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of telehealth interventions in rural communities including cardiology services and retention in substance use treatment. Virtual visits for heart failure demonstrate promise in improving follow-up care though more study is warranted to demonstrate clinical outcomes effectiveness, and ensure these interventions do not worsen existing health inequities and the rural digital divide, particularly in minoritized groups. The PEER-Heart study aims to demonstrate feasibility of screening of MAHF and linkage to evidence-based cardiology care for people who use methamphetamine in rural areas.

Interventions

OTHERTreatment as Usual

Peer-facilitated referral to a local primary care provider to follow-up their screening results.

OTHERTelehealth-Cardiology

Peer-facilitated virtual consultation with cardiovascular specialist, for follow-up of their screening results. Activities may include: referral for a locally performed testing including echocardiogram and additional blood work, and transitional care management facilitated by a remote nurse care manager and the peer Referral for a locally performed testing including echocardiogram Transitional care management facilitated by a remote nurse care manager and the peer

Sponsors

University of Washington
CollaboratorOTHER
Bay Area First Step
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
Oregon Health and Science University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SCREENING
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Patient-defined regular use of methamphetamine in the last year * Any methamphetamine use in the past 30 days * Age 18 years or older * No client-reported diagnosis of heart failure * Able to communicate in English * Screen positive for potential methamphetamine-associated heart failure (MAHF) defined as B type natriuretic peptide (BNP) ≥50 pg/ml, or QRS width ≥120ms, or presence of any clinical heart failure symptoms

Exclusion criteria

* Self-reported engagement in medical care for heart failure in past 6 months. * Actively taking medications for heart failure.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Linkage to cardiology care2 monthsProportion of participants who are engaged in cardiac care at 2 months after screening.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Linkage to diagnostic echocardiogram2 monthsProportion of participants who complete a diagnostic echocardiogram within 2 months after randomization.
Goal Directed Medical Therapy (GDMT) prescribed6 monthsProportion of eligible patients who are on any GDMT at 6 months after randomization

Countries

United States

Contacts

Primary ContactBrian Chan, MD, MPH
chanbri@ohsu.edu503-494-2010
Backup ContactKellie Pertl, MPH
pertl@ohsu.edu

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026