Research Project Summary
Recently incarcerated individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) carry a 10 to 40 times greater risk of opioid overdose death within the first few weeks after release compared to the general population. Yet, less than 5% of justice-referred individuals with OUD receive treatment with life-saving medications for opioid use disorder, including buprenorphine, after release from incarceration. Cooper University Health Care has an existing referral system with the Camden County Department of Corrections to facilitate buprenorphine treatment linkage to specialty addiction care post-release. A Patient Navigator tracks referrals using the Health Information Exchange and schedules visits with outpatient treatment providers. Because <30% of individuals attended their initial visit, an in-depth understanding of post-release treatment engagement is necessary to inform program modifications and expansion. This project will use a combination of qualitative and quantitative data to improve our understanding of socioeconomic and medical factors associated with post-release treatment retention. This project will generate data that will inform SJIPH and facilitate scaling of successful interventions across the state.
Research Project Goals
Improve our understanding of socioeconomic and medical factors associated with post-release opioid use disorder treatment retention to provide critical insight into the referral process and allow us to create targeted, patient-centered interventions to better meet the needs of this vulnerable population with the ultimate goal of increasing engagement with life-saving buprenorphine treatment.
Research Project Objectives
We will:
• evaluate socioeconomic, medical, and cultural factors associated with post-release opioid use disorder treatment visit attendance and
• explore barriers, facilitators, and recommendations related to treatment engagement after release from incarceration.