Dr. Michael Gordon Receives R01 Award

FRI is pleased to announce that Dr. Michael Gordon, along with Co-Investigators Drs. Frank Vocci, Marc Fishman, and Faye Taxman have received a grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse entitled “Buprenorphine for probationers and parolees: Bridging the gap into treatment.” This five-year study is a two-group randomized controlled trial in which 320 men and women with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) on community supervision in Baltimore will be randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions: (1) Buprenorphine Bridge Treatment (BBT): Participants will begin buprenorphine pharmacotherapy using the MedicaSafe buprenorphine dispensing device immediately after an on-site intake at a community supervision office and continue such treatment until they are transitioned to community buprenorphine treatment; or (2) Treatment as Usual (TAU): Participants will receive a referral to buprenorphine treatment in the community. Both conditions will receive information on overdose prevention. Participants will be assessed at baseline, and 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 months post-intake using a comprehensive assessment battery. The Primary Aim: To compare the relative effectiveness of BBT to TAU in terms of: (a) illicit opioid urine test results. The Secondary Aim: To examine the extent to which BBT is superior to TAU in terms of: (b) number of days receiving opioid treatment; (c) number of days using illicit opioids; (d) quality of life (i. physical health; ii. mental health); (e) HIV risk behaviors (i. sexual behavior; ii. needle use or sharing); (f) criminal activity; (g) re-arrest; and (h) re-incarceration. The proposed study is significant because the large number of individuals under community supervision with OUD have limited access to an efficacious treatment, buprenorphine pharmacotherapy. The proposed study is innovative because it would be the first trial in the US assessing the effectiveness of interim buprenorphine initiated at a community supervision office compared to referral to a community treatment program. The public health impact would be widespread, as this model of care could be scaled-up throughout many areas of the US with criminal justice populations with high rates of OUD.