Mission

PERU is dedicated to meaningful research and its contribution to a health system that facilitates a patient’s ability to achieve optimal health and well-being.

Funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), this project serves to expand the OverdoseFreePA website, providing each county with evidence-based strategies to address overdose, and assist the PCCD with the development and assessment of Requests for Proposals.

OverdoseFreePA is a collaboration between six partner organizations and sixteen Pennsylvania communities involved with overdose prevention and recovery activities. These communities are collaborating to develop resources that can be used by all Pennsylvanians to learn more about overdose and the way Substance Use Disorders (SUD) affect people, families and communities. By working together to create a central overdose resource, the treatment and prevention efforts in these communities will be increased. Funding for OverdoseFreePA is provided by the Pennsylvania Commission of Crime and Delinquency (PCCD).

The Allegheny County Overdose Prevention Coalition (ACOPC) is an independent collaboration of concerned organizations and individuals with the mission to reduce overdose deaths in Allegheny County. ACOPC implements prevention, intervention, and treatment strategies in a variety of locations and settings that target individuals at varying levels of risk for overdose.

The Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) practice is an evidenced-based public health initiative designed to address harmful substance use. PERU provides the curriculum and online platform for training healthcare professional students from a wide-range of disciplines, aiming to achieve the goal of healthier patients at lower risk for substance use disorders. Funding for PGH SBIRT is provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.

About PERU

The Program Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU) was established in 2006 at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Pharmacy. PERU has obtained over $100 million in funding for health services, patient safety, substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, overdose prevention, and chronic disease prevention research. PERU is led by Dr. Janice Pringle, Associate Professor.