Learning Collaboratives in the HEALing Communities Study: An Approach to Providing Training and Technical Assistance

Reducing opioid overdose death rates across the United States demands novel community partnerships and information sharing to implement and sustain evidence-based opioid overdose prevention strategies. During the NIH-funded HEALing Communities Study, a multisite intervention to reduce opioid overdose deaths, researchers from 4 states (MA, NY, OH, KY) used Learning Collaboratives as part of training and technical assistance. Learning Collaboratives are forums for gathering people with intersecting goals intended to promote peer-based learning and build professional networks.

We described the design, implementation, and lessons learned from Learning Collaboratives, and collected and synthesized data to identify strengths, challenges, and limitations.

State research teams developed variable Learning Collaborative delivery and evaluation approaches. Site research staff evaluated similarities and differences between state-specific processes, including: session structure, cadence, topics, attendance, and lessons learned.

From January 2020 to December 2023, 383 Learning Collaborative sessions were completed (MA n = 236; NY n = 96; OH n = 25; KY n = 24; Cross-Site n = 2), each 1 to 2 hours in duration. Learning Collaboratives had a mean attendance of 30 and a median attendance of 17 participants/session, and included frontline workers and clinicians (eg, harm reductionists, community members/leaders, people with lived/living experience, social workers, physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, pharmacists, criminal legal professionals, and policy and regulatory experts). Attendance was voluntary and unpaid. Learning Collaboratives were designed as individual sessions or series, content- or community-specific, and involved diverse speakers, community cases, and active discussion. Learning Collaboratives supported strategy implementation for 3 evidence-based practices (overdose education and naloxone distribution, medication for opioid use disorder, safer opioid prescribing) and communications campaigns.

HEALing Communities Study Learning Collaboratives successfully convened interprofessional partners for opioid overdose prevention learning, leveraging local expertise and engagement; responded to community needs, including unexpected current events; and encouraged multidirectional knowledge sharing to foster networks and resource sharing within/across communities to enhance collaboration and improve service delivery.