The impact of the opioid crisis on U.S. state prison systems.

Background: Prior studies have documented limited use of medications to treat opioid use disorders (OUD) for people incarcerated within state prisons in the United States. Using the framework of the criminal justice OUD service cascade, this study interviewed representatives of prison systems in states most heavily impacted by opioid overdose regarding the provision of medications for OUD (MOUD).

Methods: A stratified sampling strategy included states with high indicators of opioid-overdose deaths.