HEAL Strategic Planning

Since the start of the Helping to End Addiction Long-term^® Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative^®, in 2018, HEAL programs are making progress on many fronts toward the ultimate goal of speeding scientific solutions to the overdose epidemic, including opioid and stimulant use disorders, and pain. As HEAL is now in its sixth year of funding, NIH is developing a strategic plan to establish research priorities for the next phase of the initiative that builds upon that progress and ensures that the NIH HEAL Initiative continues to evolve along with drivers of the overdose epidemic to provide the greatest benefit to individuals affected by substance use and those living with pain.

Developing NIH HEAL Initiative Strategic Research Priorities

This NIH HEAL Initiative Strategic Plan will draw on input from an array of stakeholders—including scientists, health care providers, advocacy groups, and people with lived and living experience—as well as existing research frameworks. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is the lead federal agency supporting research on drug use and addiction, and addressing the overdose crisis has been central to NIDA’s mission. HEAL research supported by NIDA has been and will continue to be guided by NIDA’s Strategic Plan. To ensure that NIDA’s HEAL research investments are optimized to meet evolving scientific and public health needs, NIDA has sought additional input with a focus on research priorities to address opioid use disorder and overdose, and the intersection of opioid use and pain, that are not already addressed in NIDA’s Strategic Plan. The process by which NIDA is gathering information to inform the HEAL Strategic Plan is described in the timeline below.

Because of the multidisciplinary nature of pain, pain research supported by HEAL spans many NIH institutes, centers, and offices. As part of the overall HEAL strategic planning effort, an Executive Committee of experts was convened as a Working Group of the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NANDS) Council. They have been charged with looking intensively at this multidisciplinary HEAL pain portfolio to assess past efforts and to chart scientific priorities for pain research for the next 5 years of the initiative. Finding scientific solutions to the evolving opioid and overdose crisis includes addressing the lack of safe and effective strategies for treating and managing acute and chronic pain. The mission of the HEAL pain portfolio is to reduce pain and the risk of opioid use disorder by developing safe and effective pain treatment and prevention strategies to improve quality of life for all people.

This HEAL Pain Strategic Research Priorities Executive Committee is engaged in an in-depth process to propose and prioritize forward-looking strategic research priorities for the next phase of pain research supported by the NIH HEAL Initiative. The Executive Committee members are leading subcommittees related to the following areas:

• Non-addictive pain therapeutics development
• Pain biomarkers and predictors
• Optimization of existing and novel interventions for pain
• Implementation and health services for pain
• Health equity and pain across the life course
• The intersection of pain and substance use disorder
• Pain research workforce and training

Each subcommittee is working with experts from the research community and people with lived experience of pain to propose research priorities that will be refined by the Executive Committee. Additionally, the subcommittees are considering responses from the Request for Information (RFI), which solicited feedback from the public on HEAL strategic directions, as well as input from a series of public workshops.

The Executive Committee will consider the proposed research priorities and recommend the most promising directions for future HEAL-supported pain research. The final recommended priorities will be presented to the NANDS Council to guide the development of a 5-year strategic plan for HEAL-supported pain research.

The combined efforts described above will be synthesized into an overall NIH HEAL Initiative Strategic Plan that will guide the research investment for next 5 years. The strategic plan is scheduled to be released by summer 2025. To stay apprised of strategic planning efforts and opportunities to provide input, please subscribe to the HEAL Digest.

Timeline

• February 2024: NIDA Overdose Strategic Planning meeting convenes toward addressing the overdose crisis.
• April 2024: HEAL Pain Strategic Research Priorities Executive Committee is appointed as a Working Group of the NANDS Council.
• June 2024: The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and NIDA issue a joint RFI to solicit input on the future of the NIH HEAL Initiative.
• July 2024: The HEAL Pain Strategic Research Priorities Executive Committee convenes around scientific focus areas and forms seven subcommittees, which will convene throughout the remainder of 2024.
• October 2024: NINDS and NIDA conclude the analysis of RFI responses.
• November 2024: HEAL Pain Strategic Research Priorities subcommittees host open workshops to get public input on proposed pain research priority areas.
• January 2025:
  • NIDA drafts HEAL research priorities for opioid use disorder, overdose, and the intersection of opioid use and pain.
  • HEAL Pain Strategic Research Priorities Executive Committee meets to refine top research priorities across all scientific focus areas.
• February 2025:
  • NIDA strategic priorities are presented to the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse for input.
  • The HEAL Pain Strategic Research Priorities Executive Committee presents draft research priorities to the NANDS Council for input.
• March to April 2025:
  • NINDS develops the HEAL Pain Strategic Plan based on priorities generated through the HEAL Pain Strategic Research Priorities Executive Committee and the NANDS Council.
• June 2025: NINDS and NIDA jointly finalize and publish the NIH HEAL Initiative Strategic Plan.