U. Correctional Health Care releases video about opioid use disorder treatment in prisons
Rutgers University Correctional Health Care (UCHC) and the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) recently created a video to increase awareness of opioid use disorder treatment in prisons, according to a press release.
Anthony Tamburello, UCHC statewide associate director of psychiatry and a clinical associate professor at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS), said the initiative was prompted by research demonstrating a racial disparity in access to buprenorphine, the most commonly used treatment for opioid use disorder.
The research, published earlier this year, showed that white patients were more likely to get prescribed buprenorphine than Black patients, a problem also seen in the general community, Tamburello said. Previous research seems to point out multiple reasons for this disparity, which led to a multi-faceted approach.
After the results of that study became available, a workgroup was formed to address the issue in multiple ways, Tamburello said.
The group first focused on educating health care providers about the existence of this disparity and then on educating patients using materials such as flyers and emails that went to tablets called JPAY players that are available for incarcerated people to purchase.
The video was the most recent part of this approach, which was then deployed to the JPAY players and closed-circuit TVs within prisons.
“The goal is to get the word out there as widely as possible, to generate buzz and to increase conversations with health care staff,” Tamburello said.
Creating the video involved a collaborative effort between various departments of the NJDOC, health care professionals from the UCHC and a psychiatric fellow from RWJMS, who all collected talking points for the video that was created by the NJDOC Public Information Office.
He said the video has already gained hundreds of views on YouTube and he hopes incarcerated individuals are viewing it on their players and TVs.
“It is still early, though we've already made strides in closing the gaps we found in our research,” Tamburello said. “Even before the video, about twice as many African-American patients were on medications for opioid use disorder in our system as had been on them in 2019. From a clinical perspective, my own experience is that patients of all races, ages and walks of life are approaching me to discuss these treatments.”
Going forward, Tamburello said that the initiative to educate providers and patients cannot be deprioritized, and that future steps involve monitoring progress toward improving access to treatment.
The project’s intention has always been to spread awareness about these solutions, but Tamburello said that other providers may want to create their own videos in order to better connect with and educate their patients.
He said that individuals who are more severely impacted by an opioid use disorder are more likely to come into contact with the justice system, but the fact that the majority of them will be released poses an opportunity for recovery and to save lives.
“The Rutgers Intensive Recovery Treatment Supports program helps us to connect our patients to continue treatment in the community,” Tamburello said. “UCHC's work is about improving the health of patients in prison, but considering how unrelenting a problem dangerous opioids are out there, our work is important for community health, too.”
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to further clarify information.
