UMass researchers receive $ 10 million grant to study the treatment of opioid addiction in prison

Researchers from the University of Mbadachusetts at Amherst and the University of Mbadachusetts Medical School are among scientists from a dozen institutions across the country that will form the network of researchers. Opioid Innovation in Justice (JCOIN), an ambitious $ 155-million effort to improve the treatment of opioid addiction in criminal justice, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced.

Over the next five years, researchers will investigate the impact of evidence-based drugs for the treatment of opioid disorders, behavioral interventions, digital therapies and patient-centered treatments in 15 states and Porto Rico. They will focus on a variety of court settings including prisons, drug and offender courts, policing and diversion, probation and parole.

In Mbadachusetts, Elizabeth Evans, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Public Health and Health Sciences UMbad Amherst, and Peter Friedmann, Associate Dean of Research at UMbad Worcester and Director of Research at Baystate Health will receive $ 10 million grant of the National Institute for Drug Abuse Control (NIDA) of the NIH to review a pilot opioid treatment program for prisoners in seven county prisons in Mbadachusetts. The treatment program, including community follow-up care after the release of the detainees, was mandated by the Mbadachusetts legislature.

Evans states that Mbadachusetts is at the forefront of improving the treatment of opioid use disorder in vulnerable populations and understanding the high risk of fatal overdose to which prisoners with this disease are exposed after their release from prison.

"We are at a historic turning point, and it is an exciting opportunity to partner with prisons, to see where they are needed and to help solve them," said Evans, who was already working with county sheriffs. Franklin and Hampshire to design and implement the prison treatment program. "Prisons are shifting from traditional attention to public safety to a public health model, where they see their role in helping people avoid overdoses, deaths and readmission. save the lives of members of their community. "

The creation of JCOIN will allow researchers to address various aspects of the opioid crisis and share their discoveries. "This multi-state research partnership has many strengths," Evans said. "This will deal with policy making at the state level and its impact on public health."

With the help of the vast collection of Mbadachusetts data sets known as the Public Health Data Warehouse, UMbad researchers will conduct a study on treatment outcomes. inmates with opioid-use disorders receiving methadone, naltrexone extended-release, buprenorphine / naloxone, or no medication.

They will also conduct an implementation study to identify and understand the factors that facilitate or hinder the delivery of treatment in prisons and community settings. "We want to understand how the way we implement the program could lead to different results," Evans said. "Are there best practices that will lead to better results?"

The research will include an economic evaluation of the Mbadachusetts Prison Treatment Program – both the costs of providing medications and the potential savings from treatment.

JCOIN is part of the NIH HEAL Initiative (helping end long-term addiction) in order to accelerate the adoption of scientific solutions to the national opioid-related public health crisis.

"Within the broader opioid epidemic, disorders of opioid use disproportionately affect populations involved in justice," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of NIDA . "JCOIN will help develop effective intervention and treatment strategies for this critical environment.It is essential to provide factual approaches to people leaving criminal justice premises to prevent relapses and overdoses. opioids, which often occur when they return to their communities. "

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