Funded Projects

The current overdose epidemic is being fueled by widespread, non-medical use of opioids prescribed by mostly well-meaning physicians who often lack adequate training on how to properly initiate, monitor, and discontinue opioid therapy. It is very difficult for physicians to fully assess a new patient?s risk of substance misuse and possible future overdose in the limited amount of time of a typical evaluation. The Care Continuity Program (CCP) is a novel, online patient self-assessment used by prescribers of opioids to better identify patient risk factors and therapy benefit. The CCP tool is completed by the patient, outside of the office, using an internet enabled device and follows a compliance-driven protocol. The results are instantly transmitted to the prescriber?s electronic health records (EHR), mitigating the prescriber?s civil and criminal liabilities. The study aims to validate the protocol and delivery system of the CCP by measuring patient outcomes, prescriber confidence, and completeness of documentation in the patient chart in primary care and pain management settings. If successful, this project can significantly expand the benefits of CCP to even a broader network of providers and help mitigate the impact of the opioid crisis

Buprenorphine has been shown to be is an effective method for treating Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). However, despite its success, treatment retention rates are notoriously low ? about half of those seeking treatment will have dropped out within the first 6 months. One factor known to negatively impact treatment adherence is stigma. This stigma derives from not only being viewed as individuals with OUD, but even as individuals seeking medications for OUD as these medications often include other forms of opioids. Additionally, individuals with OUD often suffer from other conditions, including psychiatric illness, leading them to live with multiple stigmatized identities. This study will develop tools to assess stigma associated with OUD, seeking medical treatment for OUD, and mental health. This knowledge will then be used to adapt the parent award?s mobile Health intervention intended to overcome stigma barriers and increase adherence to buprenorphine treatment for OUD.

Fatal opioid overdose rates are higher among American Indian/Alaska Native populations than among Hispanics, African Americans, and Asian Americans, and are just below non-Hispanic Whites. AI/AN opioid overdose rates vary significantly by state and county; however, tribe-level differences are difficult to ascertain due to decentralized data systems that divide state health data and Indian Health Service data. This study will conduct a two-phase research project that leverages Center for Disease Control funding awarded to the Albuquerque Area Southwest Tribal Epidemiology Center for improving data quality in opioid overdose surveillance in New Mexico. In the first phase, geocoding and data linkages will be studied to address the need in New Mexico for tribe-specific data and analyses on opioid use disorder and opioid overdose. After disseminating analyses to tribal communities and Indian Health Service, Tribal and Urban Indian health facilities, the second phase of the study will establish a collaboration with interested tribes and facilities in a community-based participatory intervention research project to develop and test a culturally centered implementation program for providing medication for opioid use disorders to American Indian people.