OPIOID RESEARCH
WSU Center for Rural Opioid Prevention, Treatment and Recovery
CROP+TR
This training and technical assistance (TTA) grant funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) aims to address the disproportionate impact of the opioid epidemic on rural areas of Washington state.
​
Led by Dr. Michael McDonell (Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine) and Dr. Elizabeth Weybright (College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences), with faculty from Nursing, Medicine, CAHNRS, and Extension, the WSU Center for Rural Opioid Prevention, Treatment and Recovery (CROP-TR) will leverage WSU's Extension system to provide training to rural communities on the prevention and treatment of opioid addiction.
​
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY TEAM
Co-Program Directors
Michael McDonell, Ph.D.
Elizabeth Weybright, Ph.D.
Treatment & Recovery Lead Investigator
Liat Kriegel, MSW, Ph.D.
​
​
​
Grant # 1H79TI082557
Northwest Rural Health Network
Rural Health Opioid Program
Led by Dr. Liat Kriegel, the BHI team will support the efforts of the Northwest Rural Health Network (NWRHN), a network of 15 health systems across 10 counties in Eastern Washington, to address the opioid epidemic in rural communities. The Rural Health Opioid Program (RHOP) will use community based planning and implementation to address individual and community effects of opioid misuse. The goals of the RHOP are to empower rural communities to prevent opioid misuse and provide support and services for those with Opioid Use Disorder.
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY TEAM
Principal Investigators
Liat Kriegel, Ph.D., MSW
Michael McDonell, Ph.D.
​
Postdoctoral Researcher
Julianne Jett, Ph.D.
​
​
PARTNERS
Northwest Rural Health Network
Jac Davies, MS, MPH
Executive Director
​
Rising Strong Evaluation
The Rising Strong Regional Partnership: Family-Centered Treatment with Housing Program (Rising Strong) aims to change outcomes for families at risk of child removal due to parental alcohol and substance use and housing instability. Rising Strong is an alternative program to the removal of children from their parent’s care, offering evidence-based treatment services, along with housing and wraparound services, intended to directly address the complex and interdependent needs of each family. The purpose of this evaluation is to determine if the Rising Strong program is associated with increased child well-being, parent recovery, family stability, permanency, and child safety.
​
Our multidisciplinary team led by Dr. McDonell, along with faculty from the College of Nursing, comprise the evaluation team for Rising Strong.
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY TEAM:
Lead Evaluator
Michael McDonell, Ph.D.
Evaluators
Celestina Barbosa-Leiker, Ph.D.
Ekaterina Burduli, Ph.D.
​
Research Coordinator
Elizabeth Smith, B.A.
![]() |
---|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
PARTNERS
Catholic Charities of Spokane, WA
Nadine Van Stone, M.S., VP of Crisis Response and Shelters
Dawn Kinder, MSW, Director of Rising Strong and Chief Healthcare Integration Officer
​
Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families
​
Examining the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency on Policy, Substance Use Disorder, Treatment and Resilience Among American Indian and Alaska Native Communities
The proposed study will provide the rapid research desperately needed to explicate the consequences of COVID-19 on addiction treatment  providers, programs, and American Indian and Alaska Native consumers. This information will  inform  emergency and disaster related  response  and longer-term service needs to promote health, well-being, and public health efforts among American Indian, Alaska Native and rural communities.
Grant # CTN-0118
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY TEAM
Supplement Principal Investigator
Katherine Hirchak, Ph.D.
​
PARTNERS
​
University of New Mexico
Kimberly Page, Ph.D., CTN Principal Investigator
​
Assessing Fatal and Non-Fatal Opioid Overdoses and Access to Treatment Among American Indian Adults in the Southwest
Medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) has been shown to effectively reduce all-cause mortality, fatal opioid overdose, and risky substance use behaviors. Despite the potential availability of MOUD through Indian Health Service, Tribal, and Urban contracted facilities, knowledge of the facilitators and barriers to providing MOUD in Tribal communities at the individual and provider level remains limited.
As a pilot project to the existing NIDA funded R61 (R61DA049382; MPI: Venner, Qeadan, Madden), we are determining Tribal geocoded vital statistics/syndromic surveillance data of fatal and non-fatal opioid overdose alongside geocoded MOUD provider data in New Mexico to assess how access to treatment is protective of overdose. Semi-structured interviews with primarily Tribal and Latinx-serving MOUD providers assess barriers and facilitators to access to MOUD in New Mexico.
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY TEAM:
Investigator
Katherine Hirchak, PhD
PARTNERS
​
University of New Mexico
Kamilla Venner, Ph.D., MPI
Fares Qeadan, Ph.D., MPI
Erin F. Madden, Ph.D., MPI
​