What's New!
What's New!
What's New with PARCKA
Welcome to PARCKA's updates on awards, study milestones, and more
Voices: Utah's plan to expand forced substance use treatment is lacking in ethics - and supporting evidence
PARCKA affiliate faculty member and Internal Medicine clinician Dr. Mike Incze recently published an Op-Ed in the Salt Lake Tribune critiquing Utah’s move toward involuntary mental health and addiction treatment. He raises important questions about its effectiveness and contrasts the proposal with Utah’s previous success using voluntary, Housing-First approaches to support people in need. Read the full article on the Salt Lake Tribune’s website, here.
DOIM Chalk Talk Series
In the Department of Internal Medicine (DOIM) Clinical Research Chalk Talk Series, Audrey Jones, PhD, presented “Integrated Models of Care for Veterans with Experience of Homelessness.” Dr. Jones is an affiliate faculty of PARCKA and this talk focused on homeless Veteran populations diagnosed with an SUD/OUD, examining differences in treatment retention and mental health outcomes within primary care settings. This was the final Chalk Talk before our transition to IMPACT, and the series will continue under a new name moving forward. Congratulations to Dr. Jones on an excellent presentation!
SUBLIME Recruitment Close
Congratulations to the SUBLIME team for an outstanding finish to recruitment! The Study of Utahns’ Beliefs and Life Experiences with Integrative Medicine (SUBLIME) is part of the larger Medical Cannabis Outcome Research and Evaluation (MCORE) project and will follow participants over a two-year period. SUBLIME aims to evaluate experiences within Utah’s medical cannabis program and assess the possible effect of program enrollment on physical and mental health outcomes.
American Physical Therapy Association
The PT-IN-MIND team, led by Jake Magel, PT, PhD, recently had their abstract titled “Primary Care Providers’ Attitudes on Physical Therapists Addressing Prescription Opioid Medication Use” accepted as a platform presentation at the American Physical Therapy Association’s (APTA) 2026 Combined Sections Meeting in Anaheim, California. This qualitative study explores primary care providers’ perspectives on the role of physical therapists in addressing and managing patients’ prescription opioid use. Congrats to the PT-IN-MIND team on this achievement!
Research Symposium
As part of the Mental Health, Brain, and Behavioral Science Research Day, PARCKA Director Adam Gordon, MD, MPH, delivered a keynote speech. Session 1, focused on Addiction and Substance Use Disorder, featured Dr. Gordon as the opening speaker, followed by PARCKA Co-Director Elizabeth Howell, MD, MS, and Affiliated Faculty Audrey Jones, PhD. Learn more about Research Day!
MOMS Publication
From the MOMs study team comes a new publication, “Overdose risk profiles in pregnancy: Latent class analysis of pregnant individuals with opioid use disorder.” Find it it in the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment. Congrats on the publication, MOMs team!
MCORE
New publication! The latest article, "Understanding Motives for Illicit Medicinal Cannabis Use: An Exploratory Analysis in a Medical Cannabis Program," explores why individuals turn to unauthorized cannabis use even within legal medical frameworks. Read the full article in the Journal of Cannabis Research. Congrats, MCORE team!
COAPS Outcome Paper
The COAPS study team has published an outcomes paper! While we await the full publication, we invite you to enjoy the abstract. Congratulations to the team on reaching this exciting milestone! Read the abstract, here.
RDD Final Participant Visit
Congratulations to the study team on RDD for completing the final participant visit! This is a huge accomplishment and marks an exciting milestone in the study’s journey. Learn more about the RDD study, here.
The College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD)
We’re proud to celebrate our incredible colleagues from the University of Utah presenting at the 87th annual CPDD! Their diverse and impactful research—from adolescent pain and substance use to perinatal SUD and pharmacist-led interventions—reflects our continued leadership in advancing addiction science. Congrats, all!
Those presenting:
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Adam Gordon, MD, MPH
Qualitative Assessment of Suicides After Prescription Opioid Reduction: Insights to Inform Prevention -
Jacob Baylis, PhD(c), MPH
Clinical Pharmacist Practitioners Early Prescribing of Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder -
Jake Magel, PT, PhD
The Integration of Mindfulness-Based Interventions Into Physical Therapy: Physical Therapist and Patient Perceptions -
Jerry Cochran, PhD, MSW
Impact of Community Pharmacists on Reducing Opioid and Alcohol Co-Use: A Pilot Study of a Brief Motivational Medication Therapy Management Intervention -
Joseph Rower, PhD
Pharmacokinetics of Orally Administered Buprenorphine -
Karishma Shah, B.S. (MD/PhD Student)
Unraveling Adolescent Pain and Its Role in Shaping Early Substance Use Attitudes -
Marcela Smid, MD, MS, MA
Progesterone and Tobacco Use Among Postpartum People with Methamphetamine Use Disorder: Secondary Analysis of A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial -
Shauna Filion
Learning from Those with Lived Experience
VA Daniel Deykin Award for Outstanding Mentor Award
Dr. Adam Gordon is the recipient of the 2024 Health Services Research (HSR) Daniel Deykin Award for Outstanding Mentor through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This award honors HSR researchers who exhibit outstanding dedication in mentoring the next generation of researchers, particularly by fostering an appreciation for the vital input provided by policymakers, Veterans, and other VA stakeholders. Congrats, Adam!
Learn more here: https://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/for_researchers/awards/default.cfm?award=9028
COAPS at AMERSA
This AMERSA workshop will feature an oral presentation on a small-scale study examining how community pharmacists can help reduce co-use of opioids and alcohol through a brief motivational medication therapy management intervention. The research highlights the potential for pharmacists to play a more active role in substance use care and prevention. Congrats to the COAPS team for this achievement!
Hohmeier, K. C., et al. Impact of Community Pharmacists on Reducing Opioid and Alcohol Co-use: A Small-Scale Study of a Brief Motivational Medication Therapy Management Intervention. Oral presentation, AMERSA Annual Conference, 2025, Portland, OR.
N CREW at AMERSA
Congratulations to the N CREW team on their accepted AMERSA workshop focused on guiding principles and lessons learned from community-engaged substance use disorder research in Tribal-academic partnerships! This important session will share insights from collaborative work with Tribal communities, advancing equity in substance use research and care.
Kelley, A. T., et al. Community Engaged Substance Use Disorder Research: Guiding Principles and Lessons Learned from Tribal-Academic Partnerships. Workshop presentation, Association of Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance Use and Addiction (AMERSA) 49th Annual Conference, 2025, Portland, OR.
Qualitative Publication
Excited to share a recent publication, “They Don’t Just Need a Handshake or a Handoff, They Need a Hug”: A Qualitative Assessment of the Care Transition Experience of Patients with Substance Use Disorders After Hospital Discharge (Incze, M.A., Anderson, T., Hansen, A.M. et al.), is now published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine! Huge congratulations to the team on this important work. Read the article, here.
PATHS Toolkit
The CTN0080-A3 PATHS (Prenatal Action for Taking Healthy Steps) Toolkit is a powerful set of resources designed to support people using medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) during and after pregnancy. It includes versions tailored for American Indian/Alaska Native communities and Spanish speakers—huge thanks and congratulations to the amazing teams who worked hard to make this toolkit possible and accessible to more families.
COAPS CPDD Presentation
The COAPS main outcomes abstract was recently accepted for a poster presentation at the 87th annual College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), showcasing the pivotal role of community pharmacists in reducing opioid and alcohol co-use among patients. Great work and congratulations to the COAPS team for this achievement!
Read the abstract, here.
HOPE 2.0 Publication
Kinsey K, Broussard G, Wei Y, Field G, Cox N, White A, Hohmeier K, Cochran G (In press). Exploratory Analysis of Pharmacist Involvement in Motivational Interviewing Intervention for Patients with Prescription Opioid Misuse Behaviors. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association Practice Innovations. Congrats to the Healthy Opioid Prescription Engagement (HOPE) team on this achievement!
PT-IN-MIND at CPDD
Congratulations to the PT-IN-MIND team on having their abstract, “The Integration of Mindfulness-Based Interventions into Physical Therapy: Physical Therapist and Patient Perceptions,” accepted at CPDD 2025! This year the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) will celebrate its 87th annual scientific meeting in New Orleans, LA.
PHARMICO
PHARMICO (CTN-0116) is officially closed! Thanks to Kathryn Szczotka's efforts, our site was the top recruiting site—a tremendous achievement. Congratulations to the entire team for their dedication and hard work!
HOPE
Congratulations to the HOPE team on reaching a major milestone—recruiting their 200th participant! 🎉
The Healthy Opioid Prescription Engagement (HOPE) 2.0 study is a single-blinded randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the effectiveness of Brief Intervention Medication Therapy Management (BI-MTM).
SUBLIME
The Study of Utahn's Beliefs and Life Experiences with Integrative Medicine (SUBLIME) was awarded the Margolis Foundation Initiative Transformational Award for 2025!
A recent publication titled, "Evaluations of State Medical Cannabis Programs in the USA: A Narrative Review." This publication presents a narrative review of state medical cannabis (MC) program evaluations across the US, analyzing seven evaluations to identify common themes and best practices. The study highlights the variability in evaluation approaches and suggests that partnering with independent, non-state entities may enhance the quality and comprehensiveness of program assessments. Congrats, SUBLIME team!
Read the full article, here.
PHARMICO
The PHARMICO (CTN-0116) study has successfully confirmed that all data is error-free, marking the achievement of its data integrity and quality assurance goals. With this milestone reached, the study is now ready for closure.
Congrats PHARMICO team!
COAPS Publication
The recent COAPS publication titled Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of screening and intervention for co-use of opioid medications and alcohol among community pharmacy patients (Broussard G, Hohmeier KC, Field C, Gordon AJ, Carlston K, Cernasev A, Tyszko M, Snyder AM, Cochran G, 2025) underscores key insights into the challenges and opportunities for implementing universal alcohol screening and intervention within community pharmacies to address co-use with opioids.