The National Institutes of Health will award 12 grants to form the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) to support research on quality addiction treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) in criminal justice settings in the US.
The awards, totaling an estimated $155 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of NIH, will support the multi-year innovation network, including 10 research institutions and two centers that will provide supportive infrastructure.
Awarded research centers will study evidence-based medications, behavioral interventions, digital therapeutics and comprehensive patient-centered treatments in 15 states and Puerto Rico.
JCOIN will establish a national network of investigators collaborating with justice and behavioral health stakeholders to research promising interventions and other approaches to improve the capacity of the justice system to respond to the opioid crisis.
JCOIN is part of the NIH HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Initiative, an aggressive, trans-agency effort to speed scientific solutions to stem the national opioid public health crisis. Launched in April 2018, the NIH HEAL Initiative is focused on improving prevention and treatment strategies for opioid misuse and addiction and enhancing pain management.
“Within the broader opioid epidemic, justice-involved populations are disproportionately affected by opioid use disorder. JCOIN will help develop effective intervention and treatment strategies for this crucial setting,” said NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D. “It is vitally important to provide evidence-based approaches for people leaving criminal justice facilities in order to prevent relapse and opioid overdose which often occurs as they transition back into their communities.”
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