Concerned Caregivers Education for Resource Navigation

ConCERN is a digital tool that will help caregivers support loved ones with opioid addiction. It will provide information to reduce stigma, tools to navigate the healthcare system, tips for positive communication, and advice on self-care for caregivers.

ConCERN for Youth

The Why

Opioid addiction doesn't just affect the person using drugs, but also their family and friends. It can be tough for these support people to help their loved ones through treatment and recovery. They often feel stressed and unsure about what to do, which can cause problems in their relationships. Finding the right help can be hard, and searching online may lead to wrong information or make addiction seem worse. Sadly, there aren’t many resources available to help support people overcome these challenges.

The Solution

We are creating and testing a program called “Concerned Caregivers Education for Resource Navigation” (ConCERN). This digital tool will help caregivers support loved ones with opioid addiction. It will provide information to reduce stigma, tools to navigate the healthcare system, tips for positive communication, and advice on self-care for caregivers.

Currently, this tool is being built as a mobile-friendly website to ensure it is accessible to the most amount of people and easy to maintain for our team. The website features a course-like structure, guiding caregivers through five modules that cover various aspects related to addiction such as treatment options, risk-factors, and self-care. Users are also able to easily save content to easily refer back to later, and download curated resources.

Our Community Partners

The ConCERN study will be piloted in collaboration with several community-based Quick Response Teams (QRTs) across Michigan. The QRTs we partner with are run by ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services), Face Addiction Now (FAN), the Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC), Sobriety House, and Home of New Vision. Staff at the QRTs connect individuals to care following a non-fatal overdose and provide ongoing support to families and loved ones affected by opioid use. Their on-the-ground expertise ensures that the ConCERN intervention is grounded in lived experience, responsive to community needs, and informed by those working daily to prevent overdose and support recovery. If your community organization is also interested in helping us pilot the intervention, let us know at ConCERNstudy@umich.edu

Funding Acknowledgement

This project is supported by funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Jamie Daniels Foundation. Their support makes it possible to develop, implement, and evaluate the ConCERN intervention, aimed at strengthening support for people who use opioids and their loved ones.

Our Team

Our team brings together expertise in medicine, sociology, public health, policy, data, and UX design. We collaborate closely to build and improve ConCERN, blending research, lived experience, and thoughtful design. We care deeply about supporting caregivers and the people they care for, and aim to create tools that feel useful, relevant, and easy to use.

Want to contribute? Contact us

If you or your organization is interested in contributing—whether by helping us conceptualize, providing financial support, or piloting the intervention with your constituents in different settings in the future—we would love to hear from you! Your partnership could play a key role in shaping and expanding our efforts.

For questions or to explore collaboration, please contact our team at ConCERNstudy@umich.edu.

With your support, we hope to reduce opioid related harms by better supporting

individuals and communities who have been affected by this crisis.

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