LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 16, 2026) — University of Kentucky researchers have been awarded a five-year grant, projected to total $7.2 million, from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to test overdose prevention strategies for women transitioning from jail back into rural Kentucky communities.
The new project is supported by the NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse as part of its Justice Community Overdose Innovation Network (JCOIN), a nationwide program that tests strategies to expand effective treatment, recovery and related services for individuals involved in the criminal legal system.
Women involved in the criminal legal system face elevated overdose risk during the vulnerable period of community re-entry due to factors including unaddressed trauma, mental health needs and relationship dynamics with substance use. Prevention approaches targeting these unique needs remain limited, especially in underserved rural areas…