Project SHIELD 2.0: Police Education to Support Public Health in Kentucky

Project SHIELD 2.0: Police Education to Support Public Health in Kentucky

The project is a pragmatic, quasi-experimental hybrid type II effectiveness-implementation trial of a structural HIV prevention intervention to address police behavior (arrests and referrals) and ultimately improve health among people who use drugs. The study involves a novel implementation strategy that engages behavioral health workers as "local champions" in the delivery of an evidence-based police education program (SHIELD training intervention). In addition to examining implementation outcomes, primary outcomes focus on assessing effectiveness of the intervention among police (specifically in reducing drug-related arrests and promoting referrals to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) treatment. The investigator's overarching effectiveness hypothesis is that after law enforcement organizations receive the SHIELD training intervention, the organizations will be more likely to refer people who use drugs to MOUD treatment and other health and social services, rather than arresting for low level possession offenses. The study will be conducted across different counties in Appalachian Kentucky.

Inclusion Criteria:

• An adult over the age of 18 years old
• Currently employed in a law enforcement agency in one of the nine counties participating in the trial

Exclusion Criteria:

• Only adult participants over the age of 18 will be recruited into the study, and the investigators will not restrict eligibility based on gender, race, or any other socio-demographic characteristics.