Purpose

VA-BRAVE will determine whether a 28-day long-acting injectable sub-cutaneous (in the belly area) formulation of buprenorphine at a target dose of 300mg is superior in retaining Veterans in opioid treatment and in sustaining opioid abstinence compared to the daily sublingual (under the tongue) buprenorphine formulation at a target dose of 16-32 mg (standard of care). This is an open-label, randomized, controlled trial including 952 Veterans with opioid use disorder (OUD) recruited over 7 years and followed actively for 52 weeks. There are a number of secondary objectives that will be studied as well and include: comorbid substance use, both non-fatal and fatal opioid overdose, HIV and Hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) testing results and risk behaviors, incarceration, quality of life, psychiatric symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder, housing status, dental health and utilization, and cost-effectiveness.