A community outreach intervention to link individuals with opioid use disorders to medication-assisted treatment

Abstract Individuals with opioid use disorders (OUD) face significant barriers to accessing medication-assisted treatment (MAT), yet access to MAT is critical to reducing opioid-related fatality. This study evaluated a peer outreach and treatment linkage intervention in Chicago that is part of the Illinois Opioid State Targeted Response (STR) project to assist individuals with OUD in accessing MAT. The study uses the framework of the Opioid Use Disorder Cascade of Care to track progress through successive stages of the intervention and evaluated covariates of successful transitions across stages. Peer outreach workers contacted individuals in high-risk communities, conducted an eligibility screen, and scheduled eligible individuals to meet with project staff for treatment linkage. Over the 12-month study period (July 2017–June 2018), peer outreach workers conducted approximately 3308 encounters with individuals; 83% (n = 1638) were determined to be eligible for the intervention and agreed to an on-site linkage meeting. A majority of these (59%; n = 972) showed to the linkage meeting; most of these (92%, n = 890) were scheduled for a MAT intake appointment; and 86% (n = 765) of those scheduled showed to the MAT intake appointment. Most (91%; n = 696) of those who showed for treatment intake received a first dose, and 72% (n = 498) of these were in treatment at 30 days after their first dose. Several participant characteristics differentiated individuals that continued at each stage of the cascade model from those that did not. These findings demonstrate that the peer outreach and treatment linkage intervention may be successfully used to engage individuals with OUD into treatment.