Our mission is to advance substance use disorder (SUD) health services access and quality through rigorous, interdisciplinary health services and health policy research. We seek to inform evidence-based health policy development. We ensure our research is relevant and translatable through community partnerships. We also train the next generation of health services and policy researchers and educate community stakeholders in best practices related to SUD health services and policies. The Substance Use Policy Evaluation and Research (SUPER) team serves as an incubator of pilot research studies and as a partner in major NIH-funded research studies. The Center will also directly seek external funding for financing of its operations. Although the Center is based within the UCF School of Global Health Management and Informatics, it is interdepartmental and interinstitutional.

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Mission

Our mission is to advance substance use disorder (SUD) health services access and quality through rigorous, interdisciplinary health services and health policy research. We seek to inform evidence-based health policy development. We ensure our research is relevant and translatable through community partnerships. We also train the next generation of health services and policy researchers and educate community stakeholders in best practices related to SUD health services and policies. The Substance Use Policy Evaluation and Research (SUPER) team serves as an incubator of pilot research studies and as a partner in major NIH-funded research studies. The Center will also directly seek external funding for financing of its operations. Although the Center is based within the UCF School of Global Health Management and Informatics, it is interdepartmental and interinstitutional.

Vision

We envision a world where all individuals affected by SUD have access to evidence-based, person-centered care. We believe government policies and health services interventions should be informed by rigorous research and designed to facilitate widely accessible, high quality SUD care. We believe interdisciplinary and community collaboration is critical for designing research and disseminating findings that have real-world impact.

Specific Areas of Expertise

Our directors and core members have expertise in the following areas:

Methods

  • Implementation science
  • Policy evaluation
  • Program evaluation
  • Qualitative data collection and analysis
  • Survey design and data analysis
  • Quantitative analysis of large, complex datasets
  • Quasi-experimental research design and analysis
  • Causal inference
  • Network analysis

Topics

  • Policy surveillance
  • Policy effects on health service outcomes (e.g., treatment utilization) and health outcomes (e.g., overdose)
  • Person-centered care for SUD
  • Problem-solving courts (e.g., drug courts)
  • Policing
  • SUD health policies and health services within criminal-legal institutions (e.g., probation, parole, courts, jails)
  • Child welfare and SUD
  • Harm reduction

Our Team

The Substance Use Policy Evaluation and Research Workgroup includes interdisciplinary faculty and graduate students with expertise in substance use disorder health services and policy, mental health services, qualitative methods, quantitative methods and mixed methods. Our goal is to help organizations (for example, government agencies, judges, court staff and clients) use evidence-based practices for substance use disorder treatment, including for opioid use disorder.
Contact the Substance Use Policy Evaluation and Research Workgroup at barbara.andraka@ucf.edu.

Current Projects

Moud Decision-Making (JRIG)
We are funded by a grant from the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN), a National Institutes of Health HEAL Initiative, to accomplish two aims: 1) to describe courts’ case-by-case decision-making processes regarding medications for opioid use disorder; and 2) to identify factors involved in court team decisions about medications for opioid use disorder. This is a sequential exploratory mixed methods project, with data collection starting in April 2022. Our project is informed by Lipsky’s street-level bureaucracy framework.

Selected Presentations

Identifying MOUD Decision-Making Factors in Criminal Problem-Solving Courts
Oral presentation at: Annual Association for Public Policy Analysis & management; November 17, 2022; Washington D.C.

Court staff perceptions of “trustworthy” Providers of medications for opioid use disorder annual conference
Oral presentation at: Annual Academic Consortium on Criminal Justice Health; April 6, 2022; Hollywood, FL.

Examining MOUD Decision-Making Factors in Problem-Solving Courts.
Virtual presentation at: JCOIN Steering Committee Meeting; National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health. April 20, 2022.

Mixed method study of collaborations between problem-solving court staff and community providers of medications for opioid use disorder.
Presentation at NIH Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network Steering Committee Annual Meeting. June 12, 2024; Baltimore, MA.

Peer Reviewed Publications

Factors affecting problem-solving court team decisions about medications for opioid use disorder.
Authors: Barbara Andraka-Christou, Jill Viglione, Fatema Z. Ahmed, Brandon Del Pozo, Danielle N. Atkins, M. H. Clark, Rachel Totaram, and Ekaterina Pivovarova.
Source: Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment. 2025;168(209525).

Evaluation of the Florida Opioid Initiative

Our workgroup has been the primary research arm for the Florida Courts Opioid Initiative, led by the Office of the State Courts Administrator. We have conducted statewide surveys of court staff beliefs, social norms, perceptions of self-efficacy and policies related to medications for opioid use disorder. The research approach is based on the theory of reasoned action and planned behavior. We have also examined the relationship between training about medications for opioid use disorder and beliefs.

Drug Court Evaluation
We are evaluating a three-year, $1.5 million grant funded by the Bureau of Justice Administration and awarded to the Florida Office of the State Courts Administrator. The project evaluation involves examining the implementation process, implementation outcomes, and health service outcomes of evidence-based substance use disorder treatment, parenting engagement interventions, and cultural competency practices in five family dependency drug courts across the state of Florida. Our research is guided by the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation & Sustainment (EPIS) Framework and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention standards for program evaluation.

Peer Reviewed Publications

Barriers to medications for opioid use disorder in the court system: provider availability, provider “trustworthiness” and cost.
Authors: Fatema Ahmed , Barbara Andraka-Christou, MH Clark, Rachel Totaram, Danielle Atkins , Brandon del Pozo.
Source: Health Justice. 2022;10(24). DOI

Impact of COVID-19 on Florida family dependency drug courts. Authors: Olivia K.Golan, Fatema Z. Ahmed, Barbara Andraka-Christou, Rachel Totaram, Yara Asi, and Danielle Atkins.
Source: Health Justice. 2024;12: 4. DOI

Selected Presentations

Implementation of peer support specialists in Florida family dependency drug courts.
Oral presentation at: 16th Annual Academuc Health and Policy Conference on Correctional Health; April 13, 2023; Raleigh NC.

Family dependency drug court service modifications during COVID-19.
Poster presented at: American Society of Addiction Medicine annual conference; April 1, 2022; Hollywood, FL.

Barriers and Facilitators of Implementation of Evidence-based Practices in Five Florida Family Dependency Drug Courts.
Poster presented at: UCF Annual Public Administration Research Conference; March 21, 2021; Orlando, FL

Family dependency drug court service modifications during COVID-19.
Invited virtual presentation to the Florida Supreme Court Office of the State Courts Administrator; March 24, 2022.

Other Presentations

Understanding Beliefs About Medications for Opioid Use Disorder: Insights from Florida Problem-Solving and Dependency Court Staff & Judges (2019-2020)

Authors: Fatema Z. Ahmed, Barbara Andraka-Christou, Danielle Atkins, M.H. Clark, Rachel Totaram, Brandon del Pozo, Ekaterina Pivovarova.

Virtual Court Services
Through a collaboration with Wayne State University, we sought to understand court staff perceptions of virtual versus in-person court services using surveys. Specific aims include comparing perceptions of client attendance and engagement in virtual hearings versus in-person hearings.

Peer Reviewed Publications

A National Survey of Problem-Solving Court Staff Perceptions of In-Person versus Virtual Hearings.
Authors: Barbara Andraka-Christou, Danielle D. Atkins, M. H. Clark, Brandon Del Pozo, and Bradley Ray
Source: American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 2024;52(1):15-22. DOI

Designing Interactive Education about Medication for Opioid Use Disorder for Judges and Court Staff

In collaboration with the Office of the State Courts Administrator and software vendor Enfoglobe LLC, our research team has assisted with the design of educational modules about medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), targeting judges and court staff in Florida. These modules offer a variety of interactive quizzes, animations, and videos, as well as information and resources to assist and engage judges, court staff and stakeholders in the field.

Access to the portal with interactive tools is freely available to Florida judges, court staff, and interested stakeholders.

Peer Reviewed Publications

Problem-Solving Court Staff Preferences for Educational Videos about Medications for Opioid Use Disorder.
Authors: Barbara Andraka-Christou, Yara M. Asi, Rachel Totaram, and Harlan Matusow
Source: Substance Use and Misuse. 2023. DOI

Overdose Trends
In collaboration with Wayne State University, we are examining trends in opioid-involved deaths, as well as racial disparities in overdose calls to emergency medical services.

Peer Reviewed Publications

Disparities in the accuracy of reporting opioid overdoses to 9-1-1 by race and sex of overdose victim, Marion County, Indiana, 2011–2020.
Authors: Danielle N. Atkins, Brandon Del Pozo, M. H. Clark, Barbara Andraka-Christou, Daniel O’Donnell, and Bradley Ray
Source: Health Justice. 2024;12: 25. DOI

Court Medical Marijuana Policies
Our JCOIN LEAP Investigator funded project will use a sequential exploratory mixed method study to examine Florida dependency court staff policies and attitudes toward medical marijuana.

Selected Presentations

Medical marijuana policies and practices in Florida family treatment courts.
Oral presentation at Rise24: The National Annual Conference of All Rise (the National Association of Drug Court Professionals). May 23, 2024; Anaheim, CA.

Police Projects
We are examining attitudes of police toward harm reduction measures, as well as barriers to police-initiated treatment referrals for opioid use disorder, with an emphasis on evidence-based alternatives to arrest.

Peer Reviewed Publications

Police Discretion in Encounters with People Who Use Drugs: Operationalizing the Theory of Planned Behavior
Authors: Brandon del Pozo, Emily Sightes, Jeremiah Goulka, Brad Ray, Claire A. Wood, Saad Siddiqui, and Leo A. Beletsky.
Source: Harm Reduction Journal. 2021; 18(132).

Understaffed and beleaguered: A national survey of US chiefs of police about the post-George Floyd era.
Authors: Brandon del Pozo, Saba Rouhani, M. H. Clark, Barbara Andraka-Christou, Danielle Atkins, and Kaitlin Martins.
Source: Policing: An International Journal of Policy & Practice. 2024;47(5): 846-860. DOI

Selected Presentations

Innovation and Reform in Substance Use, Law Enforcement, and Policing.
Oral presentation at: Texas Substance Use Symposium; March 24, 2022; Corpus Christi, TX

Completed Projects

Family Dependency Drug Court Evaluation

Goal: To evaluate the implementation of best practices in family treatment courts; and to describe court practices in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Resulting paper:

Golan, OK, Ahmed FZ, Andraka-Christou B, Totaram R, Asi Y, Atkins D. Impact of COVID-19 on Florida family dependency drug courts. Health Justice. 2024;12: 4. DOI

Resulting conference presentations:

Andraka-Christou B, Golan O, Totaram R, Ahmed F, Asi Y, Atkins D. Implementation of evidence-based practices in five Florida family dependency drug courts: Lessons learned from court team member perspectives. Poster presentation at 16th Annual Dissemination and Implementation Conference of Academy Health. December 11, 2023; Arlington, VA.

Andraka-Christou B, Asi Y, Totaram R, Ahmed F, Atkins D. Implementation of peer support specialists in Florida family dependency drug courts. Oral presentation at annual meeting of the 16th Academic Health and Policy Conference on Correctional Health; April 13, 2023; Raleigh, NC.

Totaram R, Ahmed F, Andraka-Christou B, Atkins D, Asi Y. Family dependency drug court service modifications during COVID-19. Poster presentation at: American Society of Addiction Medicine annual conference; April 1, 2022; Hollywood, FL

Evaluation of the Florida Opioid Initiative

Goal: To identify court policies, practices, and attitudes related to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in problem-solving courts (e.g., drug courts)

Resulting papers:

Ahmed F, Andraka-Christou B, Clark MH, Totaram R, Atkins DN, del Pozo. Barriers to medications for opioid use disorder in the court system: provider availability, provider “trustworthiness,” and cost. Health Justice. 2022;10(24). DOI

Andraka-Christou B, Clark MH, Atkins DN, del Pozo B. Criminal problem-solving and civil dependency court policies regarding medications for opioid use disorder. Subst Abuse. 2021;43(1):425-432. DOI

Andraka-Christou B, Atkins D. Whose opinion matters about medications for opioid use disorder? A Cross-sectional survey of social norms among court staff. Subst Abus. 2021;42(4):735-750. DOI

Andraka-Christou B, Atkins D. Beliefs about Medications for Opioid Use Disorder among Florida Criminal Problem-Solving Court & Dependency Court Staff. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2020;46(6):749-760. DOI

Andraka-Christou B, Atkins D, Madeira J, Silverman R. Receipt of Training about Medication for Opioid Use Disorder from Pharmaceutical Manufacturers: A Preliminary Study of Florida Criminal Problem-Solving and Dependency Court Staff. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2020;39(5):583-587. DOI

Resulting conference presentations:

Andraka-Christou B, Ahmed F, Totaram R, Clark MH, Atkins D, Del Pozo B. Court staff perceptions of “trustworthy” providers of medications for opioid use disorder annual conference. Oral presentation at annual Academic Consortium on Criminal Justice Health. April 6, 2022 (virtual).

Andraka-Christou B, Atkins D, Clarke MH. Problematic policies regarding medications for opioid use disorder among Florida courts. Poster presented at: American Society of Addiction Medicine Annual Conference. April 22-24, 2021. (Virtual).

Andraka-Christou B, Clarke MH, Atkins D. Training impacts some court staff beliefs about medications for opioid use disorder. Poster presented at: American Society of Addiction Medicine Annual Conference; April 22-24, 2021. (Virtual).

Andraka-Christou B, Atkins D, Ahmed F S. Florida court staff beliefs and social norms regarding medications for opioid use disorder. Poster presented at: American Public Health Association Annual Meeting; October 2020; San Francisco, CA. (Virtual).

Evaluation of Virtual Problem-Solving Court Services

Goal: To explore experiences of problem-solving court staff and clients with virtual court services during COVID-19

Resulting papers:

Andraka-Christou B, Atkins DD, Clark MH, Del Pozo B, Ray B. A National Survey of Problem-Solving Court Staff Perceptions of In-Person versus Virtual Hearings. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2024;52(1):15-22. DOI

O’Neil MM, Andraka-Christou B, Kunkel T, Bryant K, Huynh P, Ray B. Treatment Court Staffs’ Perceptions in Support of the Use of Virtual Services in Court Post-Pandemic. Criminal Justice and Behavior. 2024; 51(2): 286-306. DOI

Ray B, Kunkel T, Bryant K, Hedden B, Andraka-Christou B, O’Neil M, Huynh P. Client attitudes toward virtual treatment court. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2022;140:108833. DOI

Designing Interactive Education about Medication for Opioid Use Disorder for Judges and Court Staff

Goal: To inform development of educational videos for court staff about MOUD

Resulting paper:

Andraka-Christou B, Asi YM, Totaram Rs, Matusow H. Problem-Solving Court Staff Preferences for Educational Videos about Medications for Opioid Use Disorder. Subst Use Misuse. 2023. DOI

Resulting conference presentation:

Andraka-Christou B, Yara A, Totaram R. Court staff content and style preferences for educational videos about medication-assisted treatment. Poster presented at: American Public Health Association Annual Meeting; October 2020; San Francisco, CA. (Virtual).

Police Chiefs Attitudes Toward SUD Services

Goal: To test effects of different communication framing approaching on policy chief support of different SUD policies, to identify police attitudes toward different SUD services, and to explore changes related to policing since the murder of George Floyd

Resulting papers:

Bailey A, Andraka-Christou B, Rouhani S, Clark MH, Atkins D, del Pozo B. Beliefs of US chiefs of police about substance use disorder, fentanyl exposure, overdose response, and use of discretion: Results from a national survey. 2025; 13(1): 13. DOI

del Pozo B, Rouhani S, Bailey A, Clark MH, Martins K, Ahmed F, Atkins D, Andraka-Christou B. The effects of message framing on US police chiefs’ support for interventions for opioid use disorder: A randomized survey experiment. Health & Justice. 2025; 12: 50. DOI

del Pozo B, Rouhani S, Clark MH, Atkins D, Andraka-Christou B, Martins K. Understaffed and beleaguered: A national survey of US chiefs of police about the post-George Floyd era. Policing: An International Journal of Policy & Practice. 2024;47(5): 846-860. DOI

Buprenorphine-Involved Overdose Trends

Goal: To identify extent of buprenorphine involvement in opioid overdoses, and to examine the relationship between overdose victim characteristics and provision of naloxone-involved 9-1-1 calls

Resulting papers:

Atkins DN, del Pozo B, Clark MH, Andraka-Christou B, O’Donnell D, Ray B. Disparities in the accuracy of reporting opioid overdoses to 9-1-1 by race and sex of overdose victim, Marion County, Indiana, 2011–2020. Health Justice. 2024;12: 25. DOI

del Pozo B, Atkins D, Andraka-Christou B, Wightman R, Clark MH, Huynh P, Ray B. Buprenorphine involvement in opioid overdose deaths: A retrospective analysis of postmortem toxicology in Marion County, Indiana, 2015-2021. Drug & Alcohol Dependence Reports. 2022;6; 100131 DOI

Pilot Intervention to Improve Collaboration Between Drug Courts and MOUD Providers

Goal: To pilot test the implementation and effects of an intervention to improve collaboration between drug courts and MOUD providers

Resulting papers:

Pivovarova E, Taxman FS, Boland AK, Andraka-Christou B, de la Cruz BA, Semlson D, Lemon SC, Friedmann PD. Medication for Opioid Use Disorders (MOUD) Providers’ Experiences with Recovery Courts. Substance Use & Addiction Journal. 2024;0:0. DOI

MOUD Decision-Making in Problem-Solving Courts

Goal: To identify and experimentally test the factors involved in decisions about MOUD in problem-solving courts, including partnerships with MOUD providers

Resulting papers:

Andraka-Christou B, Viglione J, Ahmed F, del Pozo B, Atkins DN, Clark MH, Pivovarova E. Factors affecting problem-solving court team decisions about medications for opioid use disorder. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment (previously called The Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment). 2025;168:209525. DOI

Resulting conference presentations:

Andraka-Christou B, Viglione J, Totaram R, Ahmed F, Clark M, Atkins D, del Pozo B. Drug courts & MOUD providers: a complicated relationship. Oral presentation at Indiana University School of Medicine. Department of Psychiatry. Addiction Psychiatry Symposium; April 10, 2023; Indianapolis, IN (virtual).

Andraka-Christou B, Viglione J, Ahmed F, Clark MH, del Pozo B, Pivovarova E, Atkins D, Totaram Rs. Mixed method study of collaborations between problem-solving court staff and community providers of medications for opioid use disorder. Oral presentation at NIH Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network Steering Committee Annual Meeting. June 12, 2024; Baltimore, MA.

Andraka-Christou B, Viglione J, Totaram Rs, Ahmed F, Clark MH, del Pozo B, Atkins DN. Factors involved in problem-solving court decisions to allow medications for opioid use disorder. Oral presentation at the annual conference of Addiction Health Services Research; October 19, 2023; New York City.

Andraka-Christou B, Viglione J, Clark MH, Totaram R, Ahmed F, del Pozo B, Atkins D. Identifying MOUD Decision-Making Factors in Criminal Problem-Solving Courts. Oral presentation at annual meeting of the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management; November 17, 2022; Washington. D.C.

Court Medical Marijuana Policies

Goal: To explore types of policies and frequencies of different policies related to medical marijuana utilization in family treatment courts

Resulting conference presentations:

Andraka-Christou B, Polischuk L, Totaram Rs, Clark MH, Atkins D, Pivovarova E, del Pozo B. Medical marijuana policies and practices in Florida family treatment courts. Oral presentation at Rise24: The National Annual Conference of All Rise (the National Association of Drug Court Professionals). May 23, 2024; Anaheim, CA.

Manuscript currently under review:

Polischuk L, Andraka-Christou, B, Akil, S, Totaram R, Atkins DN, Clark MH, Pivovarova E, del Pozo B. Medical Marijuana Policies in Family Treatment Courts: A mixed-methods study of court policies, practices and decision-making factors. 2025.

SUPER Symposium

The first annual symposium hosted by the Substance Use Policy Evaluation and Research (SUPER) team will be held in-person on February 8, 2024 on the Downtown UCF campus (Orlando, Florida). This conference will focus on substance use disorder and mental health disorder policy and health services. The symposium will take an interdisciplinary approach, with research presentations and workshops related to the justice system, counseling, public affairs, anthropology, and other contexts.

We invite researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, health care professionals, and members of the community to attend.

This all-day symposium will include a keynote speaker, three research-focused workshops, oral presentations, lunch, a poster presentation, and a reception.

Please email SUPER with any questions at barbara.andraka@ucf.edu.
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