Linking Individuals Needing Care for Substance Use Disorders to Peer Coaches and Across Incarceration Settings
This study seeks to expand access to treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs) in three Atlanta jails, particularly for groups disproportionately represented and lacking medications like methadone and buprenorphine. It tests a peer recovery coach (PRC) program that uses motivational interviewing and links individuals to medical, behavioral, and community services. The program is delivered through โLINCS UP,โ a jail-adapted telehealth model developed with input from people with lived experience of SUD and justice involvement. Researchers will evaluate how effectively PRCs help participants engage in treatment during incarceration and connect to care after release, as well as examine impacts on substance use, recovery, overdose, mortality, and recidivism. The study includes a cost analysis of the program from both healthcare and societal perspectives.
Study Aims
Principal Investigator
Joseph Carpenter, MD
Emory University
Co-Investigators
- Alaina Steck, MD, Emory University
- Anne Spaulding, MD, MPH, Emory University
- Victoria Philips, PhD, Emory University
- Nick Giordano, PhD, RN, Emory University
Justice Agency Partners
- Tracey Elam, Fulton County
- Donna Byfield, City of Atlanta Corrections
- Kareem Martin, Dekalb Sheriffโs Office