JCOIN Research
Neighborhood Incarceration Rates and Adverse Birth Outcomes in New York City, 2010-2014
This cross-sectional study used publicly available data from the New York City Department of Health (2010-2014). Censored Poisson regression, with the US Census tract as the unit of analysis, was used to examine the association of neighborhood incarceration rate and birth outcomes. Multivariable models included percentage of births aggregated to the Census tract by maternal…
Read MoreExpanding access to methadone treatment in Ohio through federally qualified health centers and a chain pharmacy: A geospatial modeling analysis
In the United States, methadone provision for opioid use disorder (OUD) occurs at opioid treatment programs (OTPs). Ohio recently enacted a policy to expand methadone administration to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC). We compared how the provision of methadone at current OTPs or the proposed expansion to FQHCs and pharmacies meets the urban and rural…
Read MoreImpact of post-incarceration care engagement interventions on HIV transmission among young Black men who have sex with men and their sexual partners: An agent-based network modeling study
Understanding the impact of incarceration on HIV transmission among Black men who have sex with men is important given their disproportionate representation among people experiencing incarceration and the potential impact of incarceration on social and sexual networks, employment, housing, and medical care. We developed an agent-based network model (ABNM) of 10,000 agents representing young Black…
Read More“I feel like marijuana is the only drug that wouldn’t kill me”: perceptions of cannabis use in previously incarcerated Black men who have sex with other men
Fragmented state laws have impacted cannabis uptake and perceptions in the USA. Little research has explored the attitudes, beliefs, and social network influences of young Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) who have experienced incarceration and use cannabis. While problematic cannabis use is not well defined and understudied, scholars have found that a…
Read MoreFactors associated with HIV testing and treatment among young Black MSM and trans women in three jail systems
Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) and transgender women (BTW) are disproportionately affected by incarceration and HIV. We assessed factors associated with HIV testing and viral suppression among 176 incarcerated BMSM and BTW in Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; and Houston, TX. In multivariable logistic regression, having a sexual orientation of bisexual, heterosexual,…
Read MoreStimulant use interventions may strengthen ‘Getting to Zero’ HIV elimination initiatives in Illinois: Insights from a modeling study
Getting to Zero (GTZ) is an Illinois-based HIV elimination initiative. GTZ identifies younger Black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) as a population who have experienced disproportionate HIV incidence. Rising stimulant use among YBMSM has been determined to impede engagement in the HIV prevention and treatment continua for reducing onward HIV transmission. Given the…
Read MoreThe Role of Conversational Agents for Substance Use Disorder in Social Distancing Contexts
The COVID-19 pandemic and its related policies, such as social distancing orders, affected the ability for people with substance use disorders (SUD) to seek prevention and treatment. In this commentary, we introduce conversational agents, a type of social technology. We discuss the role of conversational agents in the prevention and treatment of SUD in social…
Read MoreCOVID-19 Contact Tracing Conundrums: Insights from the Front Lines
COVID-19 contact tracing is an induction social network intervention in which the structure of the social network is leveraged to deploy proven COVID-19 interventions such as testing and social distancing. The Howard Brown Health organization has rapidly expanded to include COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and linkage to resources since the first cases were identified in…
Read MoreUse of Big Data and Ethical Issues for Populations with Substance Use Disorder
With expanding data availability and computing power, health research is increasingly relying on big data from a variety of sources. We describe a state-level effort to address aspects of the opioid epidemic through public health research, which has resulted in an expansive data resource combining dozens of administrative data sources in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Public…
Read MoreHolyoke Early Access to Recovery and Treatment (HEART): A case study of a court-based intervention to reduce opioid overdose
The District Court in Holyoke, Massachusetts, is among the first courts nationwide to provide access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and other treatment. The program uses an innovative multisectoral approach to serve a primarily Latinx population living in communities of concentrated poverty with high opioid overdose rates. We document the origins, adaptations, and…
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