Improving access to opioid treatment for unhoused Montanans
Counteracting Structural Barriers to Increase Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) Among Unhoused Montanans
This project brings medications for opioid use disorder into syringe service programs, adds nurse-led care, and uses peer navigators to help unhoused people in Montana start and stay on treatment.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Missoula AIDS Fund, INC. D/b/a Open Aid Alliance NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Missoula, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11379174 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If I'm unhoused and use a syringe service program in Montana, this project offers MOUD (medications for opioid use disorder) where I already go, with nurses providing care and peer navigators helping me get started and keep appointments. The team will embed these services into five syringe service program sites across urban, rural, and reservation-adjacent areas of Montana. They will track whether clients connect to services, receive an OUD diagnosis, start MOUD, the number of days on medication, and retention at 60, 90, and 180 days. The effort is meant to reduce barriers like stigma, problems with Medicaid acceptance, and unstable living situations that make treatment hard to access.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Unhoused adults in Montana with opioid use disorder who use or could use participating syringe service programs are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People who are housed, live outside Montana, or do not access the participating syringe service programs are unlikely to receive direct benefits from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, more unhoused people in Montana could start and remain on life-saving medications for opioid use disorder, lowering overdose risk.
How similar studies have performed: Offering MOUD in community sites, nurse-led models, and peer navigation have each been shown to help underserved people start and stay on treatment, though combining them across state-wide SSPs is a newer implementation.
Where this research is happening
Missoula, United States
- Missoula AIDS Fund, INC. D/b/a Open Aid Alliance — Missoula, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ramos, Rebecca — Missoula AIDS Fund, INC. D/b/a Open Aid Alliance
- Study coordinator: Ramos, Rebecca
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 below.