# Improving Outcomes and Equity for Released Prisoners with SUD: Trajectories of Participation in Pre-Release and Post-Release MOUD, Peer Navigation, and Outcomes

> **NIH NIH R01** · RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES · 2024 · $706,498

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Following prison release, individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) experience high rates of return to
substance use and overdose. Justice-involved people account for an important part of the population with high
overdose risk; therefore, a high priority for national overdose prevention strategies is to identify and implement
better interventions to support them in safe re-entry. Promising strategies include pre-release medication for
opioid use disorder (P-MOUD) and peer navigation (PN). To assess implementation and effectiveness, and
support translation across the nation's prison systems, it is vital to assess uptake and re-entry outcomes;
identify what components are effective, for whom, how and why, and for how long; document barriers and
facilitators to program success; and assess PN's effectiveness in supporting post-release MOUD retention and
recovery. New Jersey has implemented both interventions at large scale across all of its 11 prisons, with more
than 4,000 individuals receiving P-MOUD and 2,500 PN through 2022, creating a unique research opportunity
to develop and disseminate knowledge on these interventions when implemented systemwide as standard
practice. Use of richly linked clinical and administrative data, for an unprecedently large cohort of individuals
with SUD released from 2016-2027, will provide power to assess interactions among interventions and their
effects in key subgroups, with longitudinal follow-up to examine long-term outcomes, using state-of-the-art
analytic models to produce robust estimates across subgroups of concern. Innovative mixed-methods
strategies, leveraging linked data and first-hand experiences, will assess patterns and disparities in pre-release
MOUD and PN participation; retention in services during re-entry; and recovery outcomes among participants
and non-participants. In-depth interviews during re-entry will document participants' experiences with the
programs, in the context of their broader re-entry experience, their decisionmaking about MOUD and illicit drug
use, and recovery barriers and facilitators. Interviews with policymakers, providers, and other stakeholders will
elicit their perspectives on implementation and generate evidence to support cross-state translation. Among
releasees with SUDs, the study will: 1.) examine patterns/predictors of pre- and post-release MOUD and PN;
2.) examine recovery outcomes over the re-entry period and their relationship to PN and MOUD, separately
and jointly, utilizing innovative event history analysis strategies incorporating propensity scoring and machine
learning strategies; and 3.) utilize qualitative interviews to elicit experiences of implementation and adaptation
of PN and MOUD from the perspectives of participants and multiple other stakeholders. Implementation and
dissemination will be guided by a Stakeholder Advisory Board including persons with lived experience,
providers, correctional leaders, prisoner rights advocates and...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10872393
- **Project number:** 1R01DA058664-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Stephen Crystal
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $706,498
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-05-01 → 2029-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10872393

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10872393, Improving Outcomes and Equity for Released Prisoners with SUD: Trajectories of Participation in Pre-Release and Post-Release MOUD, Peer Navigation, and Outcomes (1R01DA058664-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10872393. Licensed CC0.

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