Saunders, E. C., Satcher, M. F., Monico, L. B., McDonald, R. D., Springer, S. A., Farabee, D., Gryczynski, J., Nyaku, A., Reeves, D., Kunkel, L. E., Schultheis, A. M., Schwartz, R. P., Lee, J. D., Marsch, L. A., & Waddell, E. N. (2022). The impact of COVID-19 on the treatment of opioid use disorder in carceral facilities: a cross-sectional study. Health & justice, 10(1), 35. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-022-00199-1 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36529829/ 

This study surveyed 6 staff members from a carceral facility and 7 staff members of a community treatment program to better understand how COVID-19 affected MOUD treatment. Overall, MOUD treatment access increased in carceral facilities, however, there was a decrease in new patients enrolled in community treatment programs, with two sites stopping MOUD access during the beginning of the pandemic. 

Bottom Line: Due to COVID-19, 3 carceral sites reported an increase in number of individuals in MOUD treatment, 2 carceral sites decreased in number, 4 community treatment programs had decreased numbers in enrollment, and 2 community treatment programs stopped or paused treatment.