This episode, host Michael Donovan, Associate Director of the Evidence to Impact Collaborative at Penn State, speaks with Dr. Stephen Sandelich, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine Penn State Health, Associate Director of Outreach PSACT and Sarah Ballard, Assistant Director of Outreach PSACT. The conversation explores the topic of substance use among adolescents, the role of stigma and privacy concerns, and how community and school-based outreach efforts are evolving to better support youth.

In this episode, host Michael Donovan, Associate Director of the Evidence to Impact Collaborative at Penn State, speaks with Dr. Alice Zhang, family medicine physician researcher in the Penn State Health Department of Family and Community Medicine, and Marcia Goodman-Hinnershitz, Director of Planning and Resource Development at the Council on Chemical Abuse. The conversation explores the Health to Go program, an innovative approach that uses interactive health vending machines to expand access to essential health resources in community settings.

Part 2 is here!

In this follow-up episode, we take a deeper look at the Madison Area Recovery Initiative (MARI). Dr. Aleksandra Zgierska (Penn State), Captain Joe Balles (retired, Madison Police Department), and Captain Diana Nachtigal (Madison Police Department) share how evidence-based outreach, peer recovery partnerships, and innovative diversion strategies are reshaping the connections between policing, addiction recovery, and community health.

More information on MARI can be found here: https://www.cityofmadison.com/police/community/mari/

You know what time it is - new episode! This one takes a deep dive into how community policing supports recovery and crime reduction, specifically within the Madison, Wisconsin area. The host, Michael Donovan, sits down with Dr. Aleksandra Zgierska from Penn State, Captain Joe Balles, and Captain Diana Nachtigal of the Madison Police Department to explore this topic further.

The conversation dives into the development of the Madison Area Recovery Initiative (MARI), an innovative police-led diversion program designed to break the cycle of drug-related offenses without relying on the traditional justice system. The episode offers a new perspective into how evidence-based policing and community engagement can transform public health outcomes, and sustain these efforts long term.

More information on MARI can be found here: https://www.cityofmadison.com/police/community/mari/

We are back! We have a discussion with Denise Holden, founder and CEO of the RASE Project, a recovery community organization that has since expanded outside of Pennsylvania and Dr. Sarah Kawasaki, the Chief of Addiction Medicine, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Internal Medicine at Penn State Health.

This episode discusses the opioid crisis, the negative stigma surrounding this, and the process of recovery.

Summary:

The substance use epidemic in the United States remains a significant public health concern. The rate of drug overdose deaths has increased substantially over the past decade. This risk is particularly heightened when individuals with a substance use disorder (SUD) encounter a transition in their lives, such as being released from a correctional facility. Within two weeks of release, the risk of overdose is between 8-40 times higher than standard risk. People with SUD are also overrepresented in the criminal justice system and often experience barriers to services. Effectively treating and preventing SUD among this population can help reduce recidivism, SUD and overdose rates, and lead to other positive outcomes for individuals, families, and communities (e.g., crime reduction, mental health, economic mobility). The consequences of inaction are far-reaching, which motivates this panel to discuss policy options with bipartisan appeal. Researchers will discuss innovative strategies to address SUD among justice-involved individuals – during and after release from incarceration. Additionally, the researchers can share insights on innovative approaches, opportunities to involve families in recovery, and ways to remove barriers to services.

Panelists:

• Erin S. Corbett, EdD; CEO, Second Chance Educational Alliance, Inc. (Moderator)
• Melissa Svigelj, PhD; Assistant Professor, Justice Studies, James Madison University
• Noel Vest, PhD; Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Public Health
• Christy Visher, PhD; Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Delaware

Key Points in Discussion:

• RTP Introduction 00:02
• Moderator Introduction 03:32
• Panelist Introductions 04:50
• Discussion 08:00
• Concluding Remarks 47:33

We’re back! The Evidence-to-Impact Podcast is back with a new episode where we discuss The Adolescent Health Network (AHN) from Penn State PRO Wellness. This episode features a conversation with Dr. Deepa Sekhar, executive director of Penn State PRO Wellness, Victoria Smith, career coordinator at Hershey High School in the Derry Township School District, and two amazing 12th-grade students and past program participants, Sarah Anderson, and Mena Morsy.

The AHN is a program that connects health researchers with teens to get their feedback on research ideas, helps researchers design studies that are more relevant to adolescents, and gives students valuable experiential knowledge of health careers and research in general. This program is a great way to ensure your research is relevant to teens and their health needs. In addition to providing feedback on research ideas, teens can also help with study design, recruitment, and dissemination strategies.

We're closing out this semester's season with a conversation about prevention and partnerships. We focus on a discussion between a long-standing collaborative relationship between Penn State and the Pennsylvania Commonwealth government, which targets interventions and prevention work targeted towards youth and families. Our episode covers a wide span of topics, including why prevention and implementation work are difficult, but critical; the changes that happen when there's a political transition, and much more.

We spoke to Janet Welsh, PhD, Research Professor at the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Center, and the Principal Investigator of the Evidence-based Prevention Intervention and Support program (EPIS) and SPEP™ (Standardized Program Evaluation Protocol) at Penn State, and Geoff Kolchin, Deputy Director of Unit of Violence Prevention Initiatives in the Office of Justice Programs at the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), about their decades long collaboration between EPIS and PCCD.

Resources and Additional Information

• Wrong Pocket Problem
• PAYS Reports

The transcript is available here.