Improving treatment for pregnant women with opioid use disorder in jails
Official title: Expanding Access to Pregnancy Specific Opioid Use Disorder Treatment in Jail: Piloting and Adaptable Implementation Strategy to Advance Equitable and Patient-Centered Care
Funded at Johns Hopkins University · NIH-11045721 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is working to make sure that pregnant women in jail who are dealing with opioid use disorder get the right medication and care they need, so both they and their babies can be healthier.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project start | April 15, 2023 |
| Project end | March 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $245,625 |
| NIH project number | 5R34DA056014-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11045721 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research are pregnant women who are incarcerated and struggling with opioid use disorder.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who are not pregnant or who do not have opioid use disorder may not receive any benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research focuses on enhancing access to medication treatment for pregnant women with opioid use disorder (OUD) who are incarcerated. It aims to develop and test a flexible implementation strategy that jails can adapt to their specific needs, ensuring that these women receive timely and appropriate care. By addressing the unique challenges faced by pregnant individuals in the correctional system, the project seeks to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes and promote health equity. The approach includes creating a toolkit that jails can use to provide pregnancy-specific OUD care effectively.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could significantly improve the health and wellbeing of pregnant women with opioid use disorder and their infants.
How similar studies have gone: While there is growing recognition of the need for such interventions, this approach is relatively novel and has not been extensively tested in the context of jails.
Where this research is happening
-
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sufrin, Carolyn — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Sufrin, Carolyn
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Understanding Fetal Brain Health in Pregnancies with Opioid Use
This research aims to find ways to predict which babies exposed to opioids during pregnancy might develop Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) by looking at tiny particles from the baby's brain in the mother's blood.
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Optimizing opioid treatment for pregnant individuals using big data
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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.