{"id":150150,"date":"2025-12-04T14:10:31","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T19:10:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150//?p=150150"},"modified":"2025-12-04T14:42:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T19:42:49","slug":"ucf-associate-professors-research-to-explore-impact-of-laws-shaping-the-future-of-opioid-addiction-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150//ucf-associate-professors-research-to-explore-impact-of-laws-shaping-the-future-of-opioid-addiction-treatment/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150//","title":{"rendered":"UCF Associate Professor/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u2019s Research to Explore Impact of Laws Shaping the Future of Opioid Addiction Treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to treating opioid overdoses in emergency departments, fewer than 10% of patients are offered buprenorphine or methadone /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u2014 two life-saving medications for opioid use disorder (MOUDs) /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u2014 according to a study published in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/n

Since 2015, at least five states have passed laws requiring emergency departments to provide additional support for opioid overdose patients, such as initiating MOUD treatment. Over the next five years, Barbara /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u201cBasia/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u201d Andraka-Christou and her research team will examine whether state policies that mandate evidence-based treatments for opioid use disorder ultimately save lives./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/n

Opioid use disorder is a life-threatening health condition that affects more than 2 million people in the U.S./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/n

For those experiencing opioid overdose, MOUDs like buprenorphine and methadone can reduce the risk of death by 50%./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/n

An associate professor in the College of Community Innovation and Education/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u2019s School of Global Health Management and Informatics, Andraka-Christou focuses much of her research efforts on expanding access to life-saving medications for substance use disorder./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/n

Expanding Life-Saving Care/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/n

Funded by a five-year, $3.5 million NIH grant, Andraka-Christou is collaborating with University of Michigan health economist and multiple principal investigator Thuy Nguyen on this legal epidemiology project. Using policy surveillance and difference-in-difference analyses, they/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u2019ll assess how state emergency department laws affect patient health outcomes. The findings could inform broader development, refinement and implementation of similar policies, ultimately improving care for people experiencing overdose and helping prevent future overdoses./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/n

She adds that the specific requirements of each law may make a difference. For example, an overdose patient who/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u2019s handed a phone number for an addiction clinic may be less likely to connect and continue receiving treatments than someone who/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u2019s provided with an MOUD in the emergency department and guided through setting up an appointment in the community, she says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u201cIt’s one thing to start someone on MOUDs, but an emergency department is a unique setting,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u201d Andraka-Christou says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u201cWe don’t want people to have to repeat the cycle and keep going back to the emergency room. There needs to be an intermediary step /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u2014 perhaps a warm handoff to a primary care doctor, an addiction clinic or a methadone clinic /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u2014 so that they can continue to see that person after initial treatment. That/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u2019s currently a big gray area, and outcomes can potentially depend on how prescriptive these laws are./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150150/n