Cascade of Care in the Legal System: Best Practices and Goals for Agencies Providing Care to Patients Concurrently Navigating Substance Use Disorders and Criminal Legal Involvement

Fewer than 1% of United States’ largest corrections facilities allow access to MOUD. The cascade of care is an organizing framework that quantifies treatment processes within and across systems of care ranging from screening to treatment discharge. This study highlights best practices for the implementation of MOUD across the cascade of care, addressing unique characteristics…

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Community Corrections Officers’ Perspectives of the Impact of Hurricane Maria on the Participants’ Mental Health and Substance Use

This study explored community supervision officers’ perceptions of the individual, community, and organizational challenges confronted by program participants after Hurricane María in Puerto Rico and their recommendations for future emergency management. Participants were asked about their perceptions of how the mental health and drug abuse of persons on parole or probation were affected and the…

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Openness to change among COVID misinformation endorsers

COVID misinformation endorsers (N = 1991) in a large, nationally representative survey (fielded in Fall 2021) were asked how likely they would adopt self-protective behaviors if a source they trusted debunked their prior misperceptions. Multiple linear regression estimated the relationships between openness to change and socio-demographics, health-related factors, and health information source usage patterns. Less…

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The Relationship between Substance Use Stigma and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

Two parallel public health epidemics affecting the United States include the COVID-19 pandemic and a rise in substance use disorders (SUDs). Limited research has examined the potential relationship between these two epidemics. Our objective was therefore to perform an exploratory study in order to examine the association between public stigma toward people with a past…

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Caregiver and Juvenile Justice Personnel Perspectives on challenges and importance of caregiver engagement and the potential utility of a peer navigator program in the Juvenile Justice System

For youth involved in the juvenile justice (JJ) system, caregiver involvement and engagement in the system is crucial for youth development and outcomes of JJ cases; however, there are challenges to establishing positive/productive partnerships between caregivers and JJ representatives. The current project examines perspectives of caregivers and JJ personnel regarding facilitators and barriers to establishing…

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Prevention of Opioid Use and Disorder Among Youth Involved in the Legal System: Innovation and Implementation of Four Studies Funded by the NIDA HEAL Initiative

Youth involved in the legal system (YILS) experience rates of opioid and substance use disorders (OUD/SUDs) and overdose that is well above those in the general population. Despite the dire need, and the existing programs that focus on treatment of these problems in YILS, research on opioid initiation, and OUD prevention, including feasibility and sustainability,…

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COVID-19 vaccine deliberation in individuals directly impacted by incarceration

Delays in vaccinating communities of color to COVID-19 have signaled a need to investigate structural barriers to vaccine uptake, with mass incarceration demanding greater characterization as a potential factor. In a nationally representative survey from February-March 2021 (N = 1,157), exposure to the criminal legal system, defined as having been incarcerated in prison or jail…

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