INROADS: Intersecting Research on Addiction and Disability Services

People with disabilities (PWD) are an overlooked health disparity population who routinely experience stigma, discrimination, ableism, and lower socioeconomic status. Barriers to health care are generally high for PWD, and despite over three decades of the Americans with Disabilities Act, many health care settings including addiction treatment are not fully accessible for PWD. The INROADS portfolio stems from two projects: (1) INROADS (NIDILRR 90DPGE0007) and (2) INROADS-Alcohol (NIAAA R01AA031236), each of which examine the intersection between substance use and risky use, addiction, disability, and addiction treatment services. Both studies focus on the broad population of PWD, as well as subpopulations such as those with vision or hearing impairments, mobility impairment or spinal cord injury, acquired brain injury including TBI, intellectual and developmental disabilities including those with autism, and serious mental illness.<br> <br>The original INROADS project, or Intersecting Research on Opioid Misuse, Addiction, and Disability Services, was a joint research program between Brandeis University’s Institute for Behavioral Health and its Lurie Institute for Disability Policy. It examined the intersection between addiction, disability, and service provision in an effort to address the rise of opioid use disorders (OUD) among people with disabilities. <br><br>INROADS-A (INROADS-Alcohol) is an active joint research program between Brandeis University’s Institute for Behavioral Health and Boston University School of Public Health’s Department of Health Law, Policy and Management, which builds on the foundational INROADS research with a focus on alcohol use disorder. <br><br> The original INROADS project laid a foundation for understanding the intersection of disability with opioid use disorder, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) with at-risk opioid use and consequences, and INROADS-A seeks to better understand alcohol use patterns, treatment needs, and alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment access, quality and outcomes for people with disabilities.<br>