Aced It
The Aced It podcast is the place to go if you‘re trying to find out what‘s new in the health and justice research world, but don‘t have the time, energy, or know-how to decipher all that academic writing. Dr. Danielle Rudes and Shannon Magnuson from the Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence (ACE!) at George Mason University developed the Aced It! podcast to bring relevant research articles to a broader audience by putting them into layperson’s terms sharing the findings and implications in about 15 minutes.
Episodes
In the final episode of this season of the Aced It! podcast we provide strong theoretical and empirical evidence regarding what prison staff can do to improve outcomes for everyone. To do this, we review recent research about residents: prison philosophies and strategies that harm them and barriers they face to accessing programs in custody. Finally, we provide a look at some non-U.S. (global) harm reduction programs in prison sett...
Culture and climate are at the forefront of many discussions in prisons/jails, in research domains, and among the general public. These issues are also at the forefront of the research study behind this podcast. The four articles we present in this podcast cover some of the key ideas or talking points that contextualize these conversations in current research. Drawing on published scholarly work, we will weave our discussions aroun...
Our interviews with residents overwhelmingly suggest that staff in many prisons/jails are not acting in ways consistent with cultural competency. Two of the biggest issues relate to race/ethnicity and gender/sexual identity. In this episode, we present, with sensitivity, information that may help correctional staff understand these issues in a deeper and more meaningful way, using current research to discuss some key facets of this...
Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) and Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) are evidence based/informed practices that show tremendous promise in carceral settings. To educate correctional staff and administrators about medication for SUD/OUD in prisons, we selected three articles that highlight what these treatments are, how jails/prisons can partner with community providers to offer them, and what barriers and facilitators ...
Although there is a lot we could talk about related to SUD in carceral settings, in this episode we will cover three key topics that came up frequently during our project interviews: fentanyl, K2, and drug testing. These three issues challenge correctional staff; their level of understanding regarding fentanyl and K2, specifically, is generally very limited. We provide today’s science on these topics and offer some advice on in-cus...
This episode addresses a key theme of our interviews with individuals working in prisons and jails—mental and physical health for correctional staff. Using multidisciplinary science, we consider the effects of violence exposure on staff and some possible protective factors in prisons and jails that may help staff cope. The episode also looks at the importance of sound workplace interventions that correctional systems may want to co...
This episode builds on the prior episodes and presents a deeper dive into trauma-informed care. Talk of trauma-informed care is all the rage right now in corrections, but training correctional staff in trauma-informed care for use with carceral residents and actually doing trauma-informed care in practice is a whole different story. The episode covers a recently published study and we relate its findings to our own study of staff a...
This episode tackles two focal areas correctional staff from our study perceive as critical for their work but for which they lack training: PTSD and suicidal ideation. To bolster our review of recent science, we provide up-to-date and easy-to-understand information about PTSD and suicide prevention, and consider trauma-informed approaches that may equip carceral staff to assist residents who are experiencing one or both of these c...
In this informative episode, we’ll help correctional staff understand some of the major issues contributing to poor physical health among residents. Using research evidence as our framework, we consider food and nutrition, vitamin and mineral intake, commissary prices, and in-custody healthcare co-pays.
Berkowitz, S. A., Basu, S., Gundersen, C., & Seligman, H. K. (2019). State-level and county leve...
This episode merges findings from two articles published in the last several years that consider the use of segregation in U.S. prisons. This topic is crucial as many states--including several where our research team conducted interviews--have recently enacted solitary confinement reforms, and others are beginning to think about such reforms. The episode covers data related to this carceral practice, including evidence of harms and...
In our final episode in this season, we are guided by the history of racialized drug policy in the U.S. The researchers whose work we discuss use the five components of the structural competency framework as a way to suggest avenues that may change our understanding treatment planning for individuals from historically minoritized groups.
Download the one-pager for this episode (PDF)
JCOIN Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion - Join us ...
In this episode, we discuss a project from researchers who summarized existing information regarding what we know and do not know about people with disabilities and substance use disorder (SUD). This work suggests a need for improved attention to the unique needs of people with disabilities who may need treatment for SUDs.
Download the one-pager for this episode (PDF)
JCOIN Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion - Join us in our mission ...
In a follow up to episode 7 on pregnant people and MOUD the study we cover in episode 8 reports on the prevalence of OUD-related hospital use during the postpartum period. The researchers also assess how prenatal treatment for OUD is associated with postpartum OUD-related hospital use.
Download the one-pager for this episode (PDF)
JCOIN Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion - Join us in our mission to leverage differences, promote belon...
The study we cover in this episode considers medication for opioid use disorder treatment among individuals who are pregnant. The researchers report interesting findings related to pregnancy and race/ethnicity and suggest some reasons for disparities including stigma and Medicaid access.
Download the one-pager for this episode (PDF)
JCOIN Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion - Join us in our mission to leverage differences, promote be...
This episode takes an in-depth look at gender disparities and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment (typically medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and counseling). The researchers report some interesting findings and also make recommendations for improving MOUD care for women.
Download the one-pager for this episode (PDF)
JCOIN Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion - Join us in our mission to leverage differences, promote belong...
This episode discusses research that finds that very few of the U.S. substance use disorder (SUD) treatment facilities that advertised having LGBTQIA+ specific services actually reported offering them. The research explores stigma, bias, and discrimination, and posits a strong need for LGBTQIA+ affirming care.
Download the one-pager for this episode (PDF)
JCOIN Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion - Join us in our mission to leverage ...
Following up on the COVID theme from episode 3, this episode considers researchers examine the social determinants of health (SDoH) related to substance use disorder (SUD) and the social-structural interventions that may help to stop SUD-related deaths that are accelerated by COVID.
Download the one-pager for this episode (PDF)
JCOIN Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion - Join us in our mission to leverage differences, promote belongin...
We all know that COVID brought with it many challenges. This is true as well for individuals with substance use disorders who are engaged in (or trying to engage) in treatment. In this episode, we explore the ways COVID impacted particular racial groups with substance use disorders (SUDs) and provide some suggestions on how to improve treatment processes for the future.
In this episode, we discuss research examining racial disparities in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment enrollment and transportation to treatment on the same day when the patient has a peer support specialist (PSS). The results suggest some strong positive effects and the researchers provide several recommendations for improving treatment access and enrollment.
This episode looks at research that examines the relationship between race and the use of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). The researchers also look at other factors that might mediate this relationship. Findings suggest a big gap, but the researchers offer recommendations to help close this gap so everyone can access and receive MOUD equally.
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.