Skip to main content

Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein

Associate Professor in Population Health Sciences
Population Health Sciences
215 Morris Street Suite 210, Durham, NC 27701

Selected Publications


"Yeah, this is not going to work for me"-The impact of federal policy restrictions on methadone continuation upon release from jail or prison.

Journal Article J Subst Use Addict Treat · January 2025 INTRODUCTION: Individuals impacted by the criminal-legal system face increased risk of opioid overdose. Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) provide a life-saving intervention. Multiple barriers prevent access to MOUD, including federal policies regu ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Rhode Island transitions clinic: connections to social and healthcare services after release from incarceration.

Journal Article BMC Health Serv Res · December 21, 2024 BACKGROUND: After release from incarceration, individuals are rarely connected to primary care or to social services despite bearing a disproportionate burden of poor health (e.g., chronic illness) and structural determinants of health (e.g., housing insta ... Full text Link to item Cite

Transmission models of respiratory infections in carceral settings: A systematic review.

Journal Article Epidemics · December 6, 2024 BACKGROUND: The prevention and control of infectious disease outbreaks in carceral settings face unique challenges. Transmission modeling is a powerful tool for understanding and addressing these challenges, but reviews of modeling work in this context pre ... Full text Link to item Cite

Framework for opioid use disorder screening and diagnosis in carceral settings.

Journal Article Int J Drug Policy · December 2024 In the United States, the opioid overdose crisis disproportionately affects incarcerated individuals, with opioid overdose risk in the two weeks after release 50 times higher than the general population. As a response, many prisons and jails are starting t ... Full text Link to item Cite

Perceived versus actual HIV risk among PrEP indicated persons with criminal legal involvement.

Journal Article AIDS Care · November 2024 Individuals involved with community supervision experience multi-level obstacles impacting health outcomes. This is a high-risk period for HIV acquisition due to potential reengagement in unprotected sex and/or unsafe injection drug practices. This study a ... Full text Link to item Cite

A Scoping Review of Organ Transplantation in Populations Experiencing Incarceration.

Journal Article J Correct Health Care · October 2024 Despite an aging confined population, the current state of organ transplantation in carceral systems is largely unknown. This scoping review aimed to assess the literature on organ transplantation in populations experiencing incarceration. The review used ... Full text Link to item Cite

Medicaid Expansion and Mortality Among Persons Who Were Formerly Incarcerated.

Journal Article JAMA Netw Open · September 3, 2024 IMPORTANCE: Since 2014, Medicaid expansion has been implemented in many states across the US, increasing health care access among vulnerable populations, including formerly incarcerated people who experience higher mortality rates than the general populati ... Full text Link to item Cite

Experiences Accessing Health and Social Services during and after Natural Disasters among People Who Use Drugs in Houston, Texas.

Journal Article Int J Environ Res Public Health · September 3, 2024 People who use drugs (PWUD) disproportionately experience health-related and social vulnerabilities, which may affect service needs and access during and after natural disasters. We conducted qualitative interviews with N = 18 PWUD recruited via a syringe ... Full text Link to item Cite

The physiological toll of arrests: An examination of arrest history on midlife allostatic load.

Journal Article Ann Epidemiol · August 2024 PURPOSE: To understand how allostatic load - cumulative physiologic burden of stress - varies by amount and timing of arrests stratified by race/ethnicity and by sex. METHODS: Using The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we calculat ... Full text Link to item Cite

New horizons in criminal legal data: creating a comprehensive archive.

Journal Article Health Justice · July 17, 2024 While criminal legal involvement is a structural determinant of health, both administrative and national longitudinal cohort data are collected and made available in a way that prevents a full understanding of this relationship. Administrative data are bot ... Full text Link to item Cite

Using decision tree models and comprehensive statewide data to predict opioid overdoses following prison release.

Journal Article Ann Epidemiol · June 2024 PURPOSE: Identifying predictors of opioid overdose following release from prison is critical for opioid overdose prevention. METHODS: We leveraged an individually linked, state-wide database from 2015-2020 to predict the risk of opioid overdose within 90 d ... Full text Link to item Cite

Few Prison Systems Release Individual Death Data: Death in Custody Reporting Act Completeness, Speed, and Compliance.

Journal Article J Public Health Manag Pract · May 2024 The United States has one of the largest incarcerated populations per capita. Prisons are dangerous environments, with high in-prison and postrelease mortality. The Death in Custody Reporting Acts (DCRAs) of 2000 and 2013 require deaths of people in correc ... Full text Link to item Cite

Identifying structural risk factors for overdose following incarceration: a concept mapping study.

Journal Article Health Justice · March 12, 2024 BACKGROUND: Currently, there are more than two million people in prisons or jails, with nearly two-thirds meeting the criteria for a substance use disorder. Following these patterns, overdose is the leading cause of death following release from prison and ... Full text Link to item Cite

Documenting Competing Needs to Well-Being Among Those on Community Supervision in the South.

Journal Article J Correct Health Care · February 2024 Although the harms of incarceration on health are well known, little is known about individuals' competing priorities to maintaining their health while on probation and parole after release from incarceration. We explored individuals' competing needs on pr ... Full text Link to item Cite

Implementing Preexposure Prophylaxis for HIV Prevention in a Statewide Correctional System in the United States.

Journal Article Public Health Rep · 2024 HIV disproportionately affects populations experiencing incarceration. Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective approach to preventing HIV acquisition among populations at increased risk of acquiring HIV. Yet few, if any, efforts have been made to of ... Full text Link to item Cite

Associations Between Sexual Minority Status, Hazardous Drinking, and Discrimination Experiences Among Criminal Legal-Involved Adults in the Southern PrEP Cohort (SPECS) Study

Conference Substance Use and Misuse · January 1, 2024 Objective: Separately, individuals with criminal legal involvement (CLI) and those who identify as a sexual minority are at heightened risk for experiencing discrimination and engaging in hazardous alcohol use; however, little is known about the prevalence ... Full text Cite

Mass Probation: Effects of Sentencing Severity on Mental Health for Black and White Individuals.

Journal Article Epidemiology · January 1, 2024 BACKGROUND: Incarceration is associated with negative impacts on mental health. Probation, a form of community supervision, has been lauded as an alternative. However, the effect of probation versus incarceration on mental health is unclear. Our objective ... Full text Link to item Cite