Rutgers Gets $2.9M to Study Young Adult Overdoses

A five-year federally funded study will analyze a decade of Medicaid records to examine drug overdoses among people ages 12 to 29.

Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Substance Abuse

Rutgers Gets $2.9M to Study Young Adult Overdoses

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Should the federal government keep funding research on drug overdoses among young people?

Rutgers Health researchers received a $2.9 million federal grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses among young people. The five-year study will draw on 10 years of national Medicaid data.

Why it matters

Medicaid is the largest source of health insurance coverage for young people in the United States, making its records a significant source for tracking overdoses in this age group. Limited information exists about the care patients receive after leaving the hospital following an overdose, and the research aims to address that gap.

The study will analyze a decade of federal Medicaid records covering individuals ages 12 to 29 over a five-year grant period. Its findings on the types of drugs involved and post-discharge treatment patterns remain unknown until the research is completed.

The players

Hillary Samples

Samples is a Rutgers Health researcher and the study's lead principal investigator, with expertise in pharmacoepidemiology.

Greta Bushnell

Bushnell is a Rutgers Health researcher serving as a fellow principal investigator, specializing in pharmacoepidemiology and treatment science.

National Institute on Drug Abuse

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of the National Institutes of Health that funds federal research on substance use and addiction.

The details

Researchers will examine the types of drugs involved in overdoses, whether incidents were classified as intentional self-poisoning, and what treatments patients received afterward. Hillary Samples leads the study as principal investigator, with Greta Bushnell as a fellow principal investigator, both from the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science.

Records analyzed in the study date back to 2016, the start of the Medicaid overdose period under review.
The federally funded study runs for five years.

Big Picture

The study builds on federally funded addiction research overseen by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, extending it toward post-overdose care for young people. It focuses on a gap in understanding how patients are treated after discharge, a question that federal Medicaid data is positioned to answer.

Findings from the study could help clinicians identify opportunities to intervene after a nonfatal overdose, potentially affecting how young patients are monitored and supported following hospital discharge. The research aims to inform treatment strategies that may reduce future overdoses and deaths.

The takeaway

Stronger follow-up care after an overdose may be one of the most practical ways to reduce repeat incidents among young people. This research seeks to show where that care is currently falling short.