Rates of substance use and dependence for those on probation and parole are two to three times higher than the general population.
The Brown University JCOIN Research Center is rigorously testing a systems-change approach for increasing the use of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in seven community supervision sites in Rhode Island, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. The study uses facilitated local change teams consisting of justice and community service providers to develop and implement interorganizational linkage strategies.
In a second stage, individuals under community supervision will be randomly assigned to receive assistance from peer support specialists vs. no peer support. The aims of the study are to test the independent and combined effects of organizational and client-level linkage strategies on outcomes including linkage to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment, retention, satisfaction, opioid use, opioid overdoses, recidivism, and utilization of recovery services.
Study Settings: Community Corrections, Treatment/Healthcare Settings
Study Locations: North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island
Publications:
- Changes in health services use after receipt of medications for opioid use disorder in a statewide correctional system (2021)
- Using implementation interventions and peer recovery support to improve opioid treatment outcomes in community supervision: Protocol (2021)
- Initial SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Uptake in a Correctional Setting: Cross-sectional Study (2021)
- Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Service Provision and Telephone Counseling: A Concurrent Mixed-Methods Approach (2021)
- Patient experiences with the transition to telephone counseling during the COVID-19 pandemic (2021)
- Barriers and poor telephone counseling experiences among patients receiving MOUD (2022)
- Opioid Overdose Deaths Among Formerly Incarcerated Persons and the General Population: North Carolina, 2000‒2018 (2022)
- Treatment preferences for opioid use disorder among people who are incarcerated (2022)
- Treatment outcomes associated with medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) among criminal justice-referred admissions to residential treatment in the U.S., 2015-2018 (2022)
Grant number: U01DA050442
Link to NIH Reporter record: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9917204
Study Team
PI/MPI:
Rosemarie Martin, PhD
Brown University
Damaris Rohsenow, PhD
Brown University
Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, PhD
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Health Agency Partner:
Linda Hurley, MA
CODAC Behavioral Healthcare
Justice Agency Partner:
Jennifer Clarke, MD
Rhode Island Department of Corrections

• Improve service coordination between community corrections agencies and community-based treatment programs
• Assist agencies in designing local solutions to support justice-involved individuals with OUD
• Measure MOUD engagement, retention, and treatment satisfaction
• Determine whether client-level outcomes are further enhanced by the use of peer support specialists
Clinical Trial, Organizational Implementation, Linkage Strategies