Impacts of COVID-19 at the intersection of substance use disorder treatment and criminal justice systems: findings from three states
Abstract Background Individuals with substance use disorders (SUD), particularly opioid use disorder (OUD), who are criminal justice-involved are a particularly vulnerable population that has been adversely affected by COVID-19 due to impacts of the pandemic on both the criminal justice and treatmen...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2022-08-01
|
| Series: | Health & Justice |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-022-00184-8 |
| _version_ | 1811315453503471616 |
|---|---|
| author | Allyson L. Dir Martha Tillson Matthew C. Aalsma Michele Staton Monte Staton Dennis Watson |
| author_facet | Allyson L. Dir Martha Tillson Matthew C. Aalsma Michele Staton Monte Staton Dennis Watson |
| author_sort | Allyson L. Dir |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Individuals with substance use disorders (SUD), particularly opioid use disorder (OUD), who are criminal justice-involved are a particularly vulnerable population that has been adversely affected by COVID-19 due to impacts of the pandemic on both the criminal justice and treatment systems. The manuscript presents qualitative data and findings exploring issues related to SUD/OUD treatment among individuals involved in the justice system and the impacts of COVID-19 on these service systems. Qualitative data were collected separately by teams from three different research hubs/sites in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky; at each hub, data were collected from justice system personnel (n = 17) and community-level SUD/OUD providers (n = 21). Codes from two hubs were reviewed and merged to develop the cross-hub coding list. The combined codes were used deductively to analyze the third hub‘s data, and higher-level themes were then developed across all the hubs’ data. Results Themes reflected the justice and treatment systems’ responses to COVID-19, the intersection of systems and COVID-19’s impact on providing OUD treatment for such individuals, and the use of telehealth and telejustice. Conclusions Results highlight that despite rapid adaptations made by systems during the pandemic, additional work is needed to better support individuals with OUD who are involved in the justice system. Such work can inform longer-term public health crisis planning to improve community OUD treatment access and linkage for those who are criminal justice-involved. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:30:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-25a416ecd68d41bd9813a594bb675bf1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2194-7899 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:30:32Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health & Justice |
| spelling | doaj.art-25a416ecd68d41bd9813a594bb675bf12022-12-22T02:48:34ZengBMCHealth & Justice2194-78992022-08-0110111010.1186/s40352-022-00184-8Impacts of COVID-19 at the intersection of substance use disorder treatment and criminal justice systems: findings from three statesAllyson L. Dir0Martha Tillson1Matthew C. Aalsma2Michele Staton3Monte Staton4Dennis Watson5Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of MedicineCenter on Drug and Alcohol Research, University of KentuckyAdolescent Behavioral Health Research Program, Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of MedicineDepartment of Behavioral Science, College of Medicine, University of KentuckyCenter for Dissemination and Implementation Science, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine at ChicagoChestnut Health SystemsAbstract Background Individuals with substance use disorders (SUD), particularly opioid use disorder (OUD), who are criminal justice-involved are a particularly vulnerable population that has been adversely affected by COVID-19 due to impacts of the pandemic on both the criminal justice and treatment systems. The manuscript presents qualitative data and findings exploring issues related to SUD/OUD treatment among individuals involved in the justice system and the impacts of COVID-19 on these service systems. Qualitative data were collected separately by teams from three different research hubs/sites in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky; at each hub, data were collected from justice system personnel (n = 17) and community-level SUD/OUD providers (n = 21). Codes from two hubs were reviewed and merged to develop the cross-hub coding list. The combined codes were used deductively to analyze the third hub‘s data, and higher-level themes were then developed across all the hubs’ data. Results Themes reflected the justice and treatment systems’ responses to COVID-19, the intersection of systems and COVID-19’s impact on providing OUD treatment for such individuals, and the use of telehealth and telejustice. Conclusions Results highlight that despite rapid adaptations made by systems during the pandemic, additional work is needed to better support individuals with OUD who are involved in the justice system. Such work can inform longer-term public health crisis planning to improve community OUD treatment access and linkage for those who are criminal justice-involved.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-022-00184-8COVID-19DecarcerationOpioid use disorderSubstance use disorderTelehealthTelejustice |
| spellingShingle | Allyson L. Dir Martha Tillson Matthew C. Aalsma Michele Staton Monte Staton Dennis Watson Impacts of COVID-19 at the intersection of substance use disorder treatment and criminal justice systems: findings from three states Health & Justice COVID-19 Decarceration Opioid use disorder Substance use disorder Telehealth Telejustice |
| title | Impacts of COVID-19 at the intersection of substance use disorder treatment and criminal justice systems: findings from three states |
| title_full | Impacts of COVID-19 at the intersection of substance use disorder treatment and criminal justice systems: findings from three states |
| title_fullStr | Impacts of COVID-19 at the intersection of substance use disorder treatment and criminal justice systems: findings from three states |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impacts of COVID-19 at the intersection of substance use disorder treatment and criminal justice systems: findings from three states |
| title_short | Impacts of COVID-19 at the intersection of substance use disorder treatment and criminal justice systems: findings from three states |
| title_sort | impacts of covid 19 at the intersection of substance use disorder treatment and criminal justice systems findings from three states |
| topic | COVID-19 Decarceration Opioid use disorder Substance use disorder Telehealth Telejustice |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-022-00184-8 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT allysonldir impactsofcovid19attheintersectionofsubstanceusedisordertreatmentandcriminaljusticesystemsfindingsfromthreestates AT marthatillson impactsofcovid19attheintersectionofsubstanceusedisordertreatmentandcriminaljusticesystemsfindingsfromthreestates AT matthewcaalsma impactsofcovid19attheintersectionofsubstanceusedisordertreatmentandcriminaljusticesystemsfindingsfromthreestates AT michelestaton impactsofcovid19attheintersectionofsubstanceusedisordertreatmentandcriminaljusticesystemsfindingsfromthreestates AT montestaton impactsofcovid19attheintersectionofsubstanceusedisordertreatmentandcriminaljusticesystemsfindingsfromthreestates AT denniswatson impactsofcovid19attheintersectionofsubstanceusedisordertreatmentandcriminaljusticesystemsfindingsfromthreestates |