Endorsement of COVID-19 misinformation among criminal legal involved individuals in the United States: Prevalence and relationship with information sources.

Criminal legal system involvement (CLI) is a critical social determinant of health that lies at the intersection of multiple sources of health disparities. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates many of these disparities, and specific vulnerabilities faced by the CLI population. This study investigated the prevalence of COVID-19-related misinformation, as well as its relationship with COVID-19 information sources used among Americans experiencing CLI. A nationally representative sample of American adults aged 18+ (N = 1,161), including a subsample of CLI individuals (n = 168), were surveyed in February-March 2021. On a 10-item test, CLI participants endorsed a greater number of misinformation statements (M = 1.88 vs. 1.27) than non-CLI participants, p < .001. CLI participants reported less use of government and scientific sources (p = .017) and less use of personal sources (p = .003) for COVID-19 information than non-CLI participants. Poisson models showed that use of government and scientific sources was negatively associated with misinformation endorsement for non-CLI participants (IRR = .841, p < .001), but not for CLI participants (IRR = .957, p = .619). These findings suggest that building and leveraging trust in important information sources are critical to the containment and mitigation of COVID-19-related misinformation in the CLI population.

Perceived communication effectiveness in implementation strategies: a measurement scale.

BACKGROUND: Communication-based activities and products (i.e., training programs, webinars) are a critical component of implementation strategies that relay information to various audiences. Audience perceptions of communication effectiveness contribute important insight into the processes and mechanisms through which an implementation effort may succeed or fail. To advance research on this front, a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring perceived communication effectiveness (PCE) is needed. METHODS: An expert panel identified the theoretical foundations and conceptual domains of PCE and drafted preliminary items. Five focus groups of correctional professionals who had recently completed an implementation leadership training reviewed the items and provided feedback for refinement. Revised items were then included in a survey-based evaluation of an ongoing eLearning curriculum designed to improve the practices used by front-line probation officers in supervising individuals in the field. The factorial structure of a final 6-item scale as well as its convergent, divergent, and predictive validity was evaluated using data from the evaluation surveys (Nfollow-up = 358, Nbaseline+follow-up = 159). RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis of the final scale of PCE demonstrated adequate fit. PCE was strongly correlated with measures of implementation outcomes (acceptability, r = .819, p < .001; appropriateness, r = .809, p < .001; and feasibility, r = .754, p < .001), yet uncorrelated with a scale of need to evaluate (r = - .051, p = .422), demonstrating both convergent and divergent validities. The predictive validity of PCE was evidenced by significant associations between PCE and key training outcomes, including perceived staff use of evidence-based practices (ß = .230, p < .05), agency climate (ß = .261, p < .05), and value concordance (ß = .209, p < .05), after controlling for baseline values and other confounders. CONCLUSIONS: The PCE scale is psychometrically sound and can be a useful tool for gauging audience receptivity to and the potential impact of communication-based implementation activities and products.

Fostering MOUD use in justice populations: Assessing the comparative effectiveness of two favored implementation strategies to increase MOUD use.

Coaching is a favored strategy for the implementation of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), yet research has not adequately tested or assessed coaching dosages and mediums for overall effectiveness, nor have coaching doses been widely studied within criminal justice settings (CJS). Scaling up the use of MOUD, particularly in CJS, presents a challenge given the stigmatization of substance use disorder, funding for MOUD, availability and capacity of community-based treatment providers, leadership support, and the historical preference for behavioral therapy-based treatment practices. The University of Wisconsin's Center for Health Enhancement and Systems Studies (CHESS) and George Mason University's Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence! (ACE!) are conducting a randomized controlled trial to determine the optimal combination and dosages for two different coaching strategies to disseminate MOUD in justice-involved populations; those strategies are the NIATx model for process improvement and Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) model. NIATx coaches provide technical assistance in MOUD implementation and organizational change to help justice and treatment organizations to implement and disseminate MOUD for justice clients. The ECHO platform focuses primarily on the clinical provider by connecting the provider with expert MOUD prescribers to promote high-quality MOUD practices. The trial will have four study arms that compare high-dose and low-dose coaching, with and without ECHO. This will be the first trial that assesses the comparative effectiveness of two types of coaching methods at varying dosages for justice-involved individuals. The trial will be conducted with 48 jails and community-based treatment provider sites that handle justice-involved persons with opioid use disorder (OUD).