ArticleAddiction (Abingdon, England)2024
Effects of the Connections program on return-to-custody, mortality and treatment uptake among people with a history of opioid use: Retrospective cohort study in an Australian prison system.
Article in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Experiences of People Who Discontinue Long-Acting Injectable Buprenorphine Treatment Recently Released From Prison in New South Wales, Australia.Drug and alcohol review · 2026Article
- Mortality and return to custody of individuals with a history of drug use one year post-release from the New South Wales custodial system.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- National consensus statement on opioid agonist treatment in custodial settings.The Medical journal of Australia · 2025Article
- Correction to "Effects of the Connections program on return-to-custody, mortality and treatment uptake among people with a history of opioid use: Retrospective cohort study in an Australian prison system".Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2024Article
- Effects of the Connections program on return-to-custody, mortality and treatment uptake among people with a history of opioid use: Retrospective cohort study in an Australian prison system.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsConnections is a voluntary health program that facilitates access to opioid agonist treatment (OAT) and social services for people with opioid use exiting prison. This study aimed to measure the effectiveness of Connections in reducing recidivism and improving health outcomes for people with a history of opioid use on leaving prison.
designRetrospective cohort study with quasi-random allocation to the program.
settingPublic adult prisons in New South Wales, Australia, 2008-2015.
participantsAdults released from custody with a history of opioid use. Of 5549 eligible releasees, 3973 were allocated to Connections and 1576 to treatment-as-usual. MEASUREMENTS: Outcomes were return-to-custody, all-cause mortality, and OAT participation.
findingsRegression analyses on an intention-to-treat basis, and adjusting for baseline propensity scores, comparing patients allocated to Connections versus treatment-as-usual showed no difference in rates of return-to-custody within 2 years (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.92 -1.12). Patients allocated to the Connections program were more likely to access OAT (odds ratio [OR]: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.06-1.39) and had lower mortality within 28 days of release (0.25% vs. 0.66%; HR: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.14-1.03). Differences in mortality did not persist beyond 28 days. Subgroup analyses showed that allocation to Connections was associated with higher risk of return-to-custody within 28 days for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) and female releasees.
conclusionsThe Connections program for people with opioid use exiting prison did not reduce the likelihood of return-to-custody but did facilitate opioid agonist treatment participation on release from prison.
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