Opioid & Substance Use
Substance use disorders (SUDs) involving opioids, fentanyl, and other controlled substances have harmed individuals, families, and communities in every corner of the U.S. Abt Global champions a data-backed, person-centered approach to confronting the global opioid and substance use crisis. Our interdisciplinary teams are dedicated to addressing SUDs and advancing evidence-based approaches for the entire spectrum of care, from prevention to long-term recovery support. Through more than 40 recent projects, we're addressing the opioid epidemic's root causes, evaluating interventions to reduce harm, and supporting improved clinical care. We collaborate with federal agencies, healthcare systems, and community service providers nationwide to evaluate effectiveness, enhance chronic pain care, and support the implementation of employment services for people with SUD. Our goals: Reduce overdose deaths and build equitable, sustainable, and humane support systems for people impacted by SUDs.
Expertise
- Opioid Management and Misuse Prevention
- Substance Use Disorders (SUD)
- Recovery and Reunification Interventions
- Impact and Implementation Evaluations
- Program Design and Technical Assistance (TA)
- Participant Perspectives Evaluation
Clients Include
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE)
Our Work
Compendium of tested pain and opioid management strategies for older adults
Evaluation of the Maternal Opioid Misuse (MOM) to improve outcomes for pregnant women with OUD and reduce neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome
Apprenticeship programs to support communities with a high need for behavioral health care through trainings, webinars, and technical assistance
Grant evaluation through site visits, interviews, and surveys for integrating jobseekers with SUD into the workforce and training employers
Training, technical support, and toolkits for enhancing Massachusetts long-term care facilities' ability to care for residents with SUD
Our Experts
Insights
Abt Team to Help Bureau of Justice Assistance State and Local Grantees Improve Opioids, Stimulants, and Substance Use Data
The Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded an Abt-led team a contract to provide training and technical assistance to state, local, and tribal governments.
Abt and Mass. Dept. of Health Take the Next Step in Addressing Substance Use Disorder and Long-Term Care
Under a new contract for Mass DPH, Abt will provide technical support so long-term care facilities can better support residents with substance use disorders.
Integrating Employment Services with Substance Use Treatment and Recovery: The Experiences of Five Programs
An Abt-led report reviews five programs that combine SUD treatment and recovery services with employment services and makes recommendations for practitioners.
Maternal Opioid Misuse (MOM) Model Evaluation - Pre-Implementation Evaluation Report
Abt is evaluating CMS’s MOM Model to improve care and reduce costs for pregnant and postpartum Medicaid beneficiaries with OUD and their infants.
Building Evidence-Based Strategies to Improve Employment Outcomes for Individuals With Substance Use Disorders
This paper reviews promising efforts to integrate employment services with treatment and recovery services for people with substance use disorder.
Six Building Blocks for Opioid Management
Primary care practices need to redesign the way they provide care to balance preventing opioid misuse and potential risks while addressing the needs of patients with chronic pain. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) awarded Abt a…
Replication of Recovery and Reunification Interventions for Families-Impact Study (R3-Impact)
In the last 20 years, parental substance use disorder (SUD) has become an increasingly prevalent reason for children to enter foster care. Recovery coaching is a promising strategy to support parents’ recovery and help keep families safe and together…
Evaluating Programs To Prevent Drug Misuse
As the opioid crisis and misuse of prescription drugs continue, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) wants to ensure its investments in states, tribes, and their grantees created effective prevention programming to…
Spotlight On: Opioid Use, Misuse and Overdose
Our work has helped address the supply of and demand for illegal drugs and the misuse of legal substances for federal, state and local agencies, as well as other key stakeholders.
Building Evidence on Employment Strategies (BEES)
Many Americans struggle in the labor market even when overall economic conditions are good. Unemployment is persistently high for some demographic groups and in certain geographic areas, and a large proportion of working-age adults – about one in five in…
Supporting Development, Dissemination and Implementation of the CDC Opioid Prescribing Guideline
Nearly 50,000 persons died of opioid overdoses in 2017, which contributed to the first-ever decline in working-age Americans’ life expectancy. A 2012 Abt Global study found wide geographic variation in opioid prescribing in the United States, indicating…
Expanding Evidence on Recovery and Reunification Interventions for Families
The child welfare system has seen recent increases in removals of children from homes where parental substance use disorder (SUD) is a contributing factor, due in part to the depth of the opioid crisis. Some parents with SUD have limited access to…