# Leveraging Implementation Science to Increase Access to Trauma Treatment for Incarcerated Drug Users

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIV OF ARKANSAS FOR MED SCIS · 2023 · $75,535

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
From the parent grant: The unmet need for effective addiction treatment within the criminal justice system
“represents a significant opportunity to intervene with a high-risk population” according to NIDA’s 2016-2020
strategic plan. The plan also encourages the development and evaluation of implementation strategies that
address the needs of the criminal justice system. This Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career
Development Award (K23) will prepare the applicant with the skills necessary to launch an independent
research program focused on examining implementation strategies to support the uptake of evidence-based
mental health interventions for incarcerated substance users. The applicant’s training goals are as follows: 1)
develop expertise in implementation science research methods, 2) increase knowledge relevant to
interventions for substance users, and 3) enhance skills necessary for a successful research career. These
training goals will be achieved through a combination of mentored research and study, didactic and
experiential learning, and intensive externship training. Because severe trauma exposure, substance use, and
justice-involvement overwhelmingly co-occur in prison populations, the applicant’s research plan will aim to
advance knowledge on implementation of a gold-standard psychotherapy for trauma, Cognitive Processing
Therapy (CPT), in the prison setting. She will also examine whether prison-delivered CPT reduces drug use,
psychiatric symptoms, and recidivism. The three specific aims in this research are: 1) Use formative evaluation
to identify factors that may influence implementation and uptake of CPT in prisons, 2) Adapt CPT for
incarcerated drug users and develop a facilitation-based implementation guide to support its uptake, and 3)
conduct a participant-randomized Hybrid II trial to assess effectiveness and implementation outcomes of CPT
with incarcerated drug users. If found to be effective, wide-scale implementation of CPT may improve the
health of over 1.7 million incarcerated Americans who have co-occurring substance use and trauma exposure.
The work proposed in this application will be conducted at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, a
rich context for early stage investigators, under the guidance of mentoring from the following national experts:
Drs. JoAnn Kirchner and Geoffrey Curran for implementation science, Dr. Nickolas Zaller for drug use and its
overlap with the criminal justice system, and Dr. Debra Kaysen for CPT and its adaptation in low-resource
contexts and with substance users. At its conclusion, the applicant will have progressed toward her goal of
becoming a criminal justice implementation scientist by 1) advancing foundational knowledge on CPT
implementation within the criminal justice system and effectiveness as treatment for addiction and 2) publishing
research on application of implementation science in criminal justice settings.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10768364
- **Project number:** 3K23DA048162-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF ARKANSAS FOR MED SCIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Melissa Jean Zielinski
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $75,535
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10768364

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10768364, Leveraging Implementation Science to Increase Access to Trauma Treatment for Incarcerated Drug Users (3K23DA048162-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10768364. Licensed CC0.

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