The findings from the Boston Overdose Linkage to Treatment Study (BOLTS), which ICH led with funding from RIZE Massachusetts Foundation and collaborators from the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), Boston Medical Center (BMC), and BU School of Public Health (BUSPH), were discussed in a Boston Globe editorial. Ranjani Paradise was also quoted in this article, which focused on the situation in the Mass. and Cass area, highlighting the need for housing, access to treatment, policies to improve quality of life, and public safety.
BOLTS is a qualitative research study that examined access to treatment for people who recently experienced an opioid overdose in Boston, with particular focus on racial/ethnic equity. The study design and data collection were guided by input from a wide range of stakeholders, including front line service providers and people who have lived experience with addiction from the Black and Latinx communities. BOLTS included interviews with 59 overdose survivors in Boston, including 29 individuals who were experiencing unsheltered homelessness, as well as 28 key informants including policymakers, healthcare providers, harm reductionists, first responders, and community leaders.
You can read the Boston Globe’s “Address both health and safety at Mass. and Cass” article here.