December 21, 2022 | Rachael Grahame
A University of Maryland psychologist is taking the peer-based opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment model she and her team developed in Baltimore, Md., to the state’s Eastern Shore with the support of a $3.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The five-year study by psychology Associate Professor Jessica Magidson and Associate Professor Sarah Kattakuzhy, a physician at the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, is funded by the NIH HEAL Initiative.
They’ll be looking at Magidson’s “Peer Activate” model in a mobile treatment unit (MTU) for individuals with OUD, as well as examining the rising challenge of stimulant use in rural areas such as Caroline County, Md.
“There are no medications available to treat stimulant use like there are for OUD, so behavioral interventions and peer support are crucial,” said Magidson. “Treatment models need to support the majority of patients who are presenting not just with OUD, but multiple substances—including stimulants—who may be more likely to drop out of OUD treatment.”
Contact
Vanessa McMains
Director, Media & Public Affairs
Institute of Human Virology
University of Maryland School of Medicine
443-875-6099
vmcmains@ihv.umaryland.edu
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