The rise in opioid misuse coincides with increased sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV incidence. Transactional sex is an under-researched phenomenon among Black Americans who misuse opioids, and may increase their risk of STI or HIV transmission. Given the disproportionate impact of the opioid epidemic on Black Americans and the risks…

In the fall of 2015, Northern Kentucky University began a sustained, multidimensional effort to explore our region's devastating heroin epidemic. The goal was to engage NKU's students, faculty, and staff with the community through public dialogue, experiential learning, and research. Taken together, our engagements would contribute to public…

Little research has focused on the drugs-violence nexus in rural areas. As such, the purpose of this study is to use Goldstein's tripartite conceptual framework to examine the relationship between drugs and violence among felony probationers in rural Appalachian Kentucky (n = 799). Data on demo-graphics, substance use criminal history, and…