Jail and treatment staff attitudes regarding MOUDs before and after an implementation intervention

Abstract

Jails are often the first point of assessment after arrest. This structural position provides an early opportunity to document and treat opioid use disorder (OUD). This paper describes the findings of the Building Bridges Planning Initiative, a project which prepared jail staff and their community treatment partners for the implementation and/or expansion of the use of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUDs) in 16 different jurisdictions across the U.S. From August 2019 through April 2020, 123 staff participants from 16 different counties in the U.S. completed surveys at baseline and again at one-year follow-up for staff still engaged in the project documenting changes in knowledge about, and the perceived helpfulness of, six different MOUDs. Participants were predominantly female (61%), averaged 49 years of age (SD = 11), and worked in jail (60%). Bivariate and multivariate results suggest that respondents’ perceived knowledge of/helpfulness of all MOUDs increased from baseline to follow-up, though findings for naltrexone-based MOUDs were mixed, with only depot naltrexone demonstrating significant increases in perceived helpfulness. Findings presented here suggest that over the course of the intervention, familiarity with and attitudes about MOUDs improved among individuals working within treatment centers and individuals working within correctional facilities.

Keywords:

• Jail
• opioid use disorder (OUD)
• medications for opioid use disorder (MOUDs)
• staff attitudes
• staff perceptions
• implementation

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank FRI project team members Andrea Salizzoni and Ariel Ludwig, Tisha Wiley of NIDA, Tara Kunkel and Jennie Simpson of BJA, Julie Wiegandt of Arnold Ventures, Donna Strugar-Fritsch and the coaches of HMA, and all the Building Bridges team members.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, TRB, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse [grant number 3R01DA043476-02S1].