OPAC CORRECTIONS STUDY

AN EVALUATION OF THE USE OF COMMUNITY TRANSITION TEAMS TO IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH AN OPIOID USE DISORDER FOLLOWING RELEASE FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA CORRECTIONS.

OVERVIEW

The period following release from a correctional facility is one of heightened vulnerability, as individuals re-immerse into their communities and attempt to access healthcare services. Accordingly, many newly-released clients feel ill equipped to navigate this process and, in the absence of proper support, are at high-risk for relapse to substance use, recidivism and a host of other negative outcomes. To address this, Provincial Health Services Authority and British Columbia Mental Health & Substance Use Services – Correctional Health Services has recently implemented the use of Community Transition Teams (CTTs) to provide support to individuals with an opioid use disorder at the time of release from a correctional facility in British Columbia (BC). While the implementation of CTTs is confirmed to proceed, no formal evaluation of the impact such an evidence-based treatment approach may have on resulting health outcomes or service utilization for this high-risk patient population has yet been proposed.

OBJECTIVES

The overall goal of this proposed program of research is to improve health and treatment outcomes for individuals with an opioid use disorder upon release from a correctional facility through the successful implementation and scale-up of CTTs in BC. More specifically, the study objectives are to:

  1. Develop and use harmonized data systems to monitor and evaluate relevant health and social outcomes (e.g., adherence to opioid agonist treatment, non-fatal and fatal overdose, health care utilization, recidivism) associated with the use of CTTs among individuals with an opioid use disorder following release from a BC correctional facility.
  2. Identify and respond to implementation gaps associated with the scale-up of CTTs in diverse correctional settings in BC.
  3. Identify new actionable strategies or interventions required to optimize the transition from a correctional setting to community.

PARTNERS

The OPAC Corrections Study combines the use of a one-time interviewer administered questionnaire and annual administrative and clinical health database linkages to characterize patterns of service utilization, health and social outcomes over a five-year follow-up period. Data for the OPAC Corrections Study will be accessed from the following data stewards:

BC Ministry of Health BC Corrections
Vancouver Coastal Health Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network
BC Centre for Disease Control BC Cancer Agency
Cardiac Services BC

FUNDERS

  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
  • Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse (CRISM)
  • Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
  • Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR)
  • The University of British Columbia Diamond Professorship in Addiction Care Innovation

CONTACT

OPAC Corrections Study Principal Investigator: Dr. Seonaid Nolan

To learn more about the OPAC Corrections Study, please contact:
Eisha Lehal, Research Coordinator.
Phone: (604)-306-3674
Email: [email protected]

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