Adult Drug Treatment Courts and Their Communities: Do they affect overdose and health outcomes in communities?
Official title: Adult Drug Treatment Courts and Their Communities: A Rigorous Examination of Drug Court Impact on Community Overdose Rates and How Non-Medical Factors Associated with Health Play a Role
Funded at Chestnut Health Systems, INC. · NIH-11325802 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A small, focused study will look at how drug treatment courts in communities relate to overdose deaths and other health and safety factors for adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R03 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Chestnut Health Systems, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Bloomington, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2025 |
| Project end | April 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $66,400 |
| NIH project number | 5R03DA062754-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11325802 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Communities and systems implementing or considering drug treatment courts; policymakers and public health professionals.
✕Less likely to help
Individual patients are not enrolled; the work focuses on community-level outcomes rather than direct patient participation.
What this research studies
This project, focused on adults 21 and older, examines how drug treatment courts may influence community overdose rates and broader health-related factors. Researchers will analyze public health and criminal-legal data to understand links between court-based SUD treatment approaches and community outcomes. The study will emphasize rigorous methods to assess whether DTCs correlate with changes in overdose deaths and related community health metrics over time. Findings could inform communities on whether expanding or adjusting DTCs helps reduce harms from the opioid crisis.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, results could guide safer, more effective community responses to opioid-related harms and inform policy decisions.
How similar studies have gone: Previous individual-level studies show mixed results; this project aims to provide rigorous community-level evidence.
Where this research is happening
-
Chestnut Health Systems, INC.
Bloomington, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hibbard, Patrick — Chestnut Health Systems, INC.
- Study coordinator: Hibbard, Patrick
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.