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Addressing Substance Use Disorder In Rural Appalachia: Improving Access And Treatment Outcomes For Justice-Involved Individuals, Jessica Muldowney
Addressing Substance Use Disorder In Rural Appalachia: Improving Access And Treatment Outcomes For Justice-Involved Individuals, Jessica Muldowney
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Background: Opioid use disorder (OUD) represents a critical public health crisis disproportionately affecting justice-involved (JI) populations, with approximately 65% of incarcerated individuals having substance use disorders (James & Beatty, 2006). Rural Appalachian communities face compounded challenges due to limited healthcare access, provider shortages, and cultural stigma surrounding addiction treatment. Despite evidence demonstrating that medication-assisted treatment (MAT) reduces recidivism and overdose deaths, only 20% of correctional facilities offer these services (Klein & Seppala, 2019).
Objective: This mixed-methods study evaluated organizational readiness and infrastructure capacity for implementing evidence-based OUD interventions, specifically MAT programs across three rural counties in northwestern North Carolina.
Methods: …