# Using Implementation Interventions and Peer Recovery Support to Improve Opioid Treatment Outcomes in Community Supervision

> **NIH NIH U01** · BROWN UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $764,780

## Abstract

Abstract
Individuals who have been previously incarcerated have a significantly higher risk of dying from overdose[4];
particularly in the first two weeks after release. More than 4.5 million people is the US are supervised in the
community setting and nearly half have a substance use disorder but few receive services. There is a critical
need for linkage to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) for individuals on community supervision.
Providing medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) to individuals on probation or parole decreases the rate
of relapse and recidivism, and increases retention in substance abuse treatment. In 2016, RIDOC introduced
the first correctional system-wide MOUD program in the country to initiate a comprehensive program to offer all
three FDA approved medications (in all prison or jail settings) to all eligible individuals. As a result of the
RIDOC program, we have expanded MOUD linkage to treatment in the community that is associated
with a significant drop in statewide overdose deaths post-release. This work is the foundation from which
we have built the current proposal. Our proposed research is to rigorously test a systems-change approach for
increasing use of MOUD using a randomized type 1 hybrid implementation-effectiveness design in probation
and parole sites. We propose a unique network of 7 geographically distinct community supervision (probation
and parole) performance sites from Rhode Island, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. After a 6-month period of
baseline for comparison, the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainability framework is used to
guide system-change through facilitated local change teams consisting of justice and community service
providers. A core set of implementation strategies is provided to all sites. The overall objective is to improve
linkage to the continuum of evidence-based care for justice-involved individuals. Organizational assessments
are timed with EPIS stages. At the end of Implementation, N=680 probation/parolee clients will be randomly
assigned to receive peer support specialists vs. no peer support with follow-up at 3, 6 and 12 months.
Implementation outcomes include program acceptability, adoption, penetration, sustainability and costs. Client-
level effectiveness outcomes include retention, satisfaction, opioid use, opioid overdoses, recidivism, linkage to
OUD treatment, and utilization of recovery services. This research team is uniquely poised to evaluate the
implementation and impact of MOUD among justice-involved individuals, to answer questions of
urgent public health significance, inform implementation science, and improve service delivery.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11021693
- **Project number:** 3U01DA050442-05S2
- **Recipient organization:** BROWN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $764,780
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11021693

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11021693, Using Implementation Interventions and Peer Recovery Support to Improve Opioid Treatment Outcomes in Community Supervision (3U01DA050442-05S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11021693. Licensed CC0.

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