{
  "id": 184068,
  "title": "The value of a refusal: Research targets engagement gaps in opioid overdose care",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/the-value-of-a-refusal-research-targets-engagement-gaps-in-opioid",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-05T16:20:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-engagement-gaps-opioid-overdose.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Opioid overdose prevention trials face challenges in recruiting participants, with a new study revealing surprising insights into why some individuals decline to take part. Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) discovered that patients with college experience were three times more likely to refuse participation compared to those without a high school diploma. Additionally, people without health insurance and younger patients were also more likely to opt out. The study, published in the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, aimed to understand the reasons behind these refusals, going beyond the usual assumption that declining participation marks the end of a conversation. Instead, the researchers treated those who declined as a valuable source of information. Common reasons for refusing to participate included wanting to leave the emergency department quickly, feeling unwell, lack of interest in research, and the belief that the intervention would not be helpful. Interestingly, many of those who declined still expressed a desire for substance-use treatment, indicating that research participation and care are not mutually exclusive. This finding suggests that the issue may lie more in the research study itself rather than in the support provided by peer recovery specialists. The researchers propose that timing, the emergency department setting, and the way opportunities are presented to participants could all contribute to declining participation. They suggest that technology, such as telehealth visits and medication delivery by mail, could make participation less burdensome. Furthermore, they emphasize the importance of connecting with participants when they are ready, rather than forcing them to decide immediately after a medical crisis. By understanding who declines and why, researchers may uncover new ways to make clinical trials more accessible and effective for a broader range of individuals.",
  "summary": "The most important people in a clinical trial may be the ones who never join it. Every \"no\" in a clinical trial is usually treated as the end of a conversation, but a new MUSC study suggests it might be the beginning of an important one. The study is published in the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}