About RESPOND

RESPOND (Researching Effective Strategies to Prevent Opioid Death) is a cohort-based state transition simulation model designed to help understand and address opioid use. It tracks a population at high risk for opioid use, modeling how people start and stop medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and how this affects outcomes like overdose, mortality, quality of life, and costs. RESPOND can evaluate the impact and cost-effectiveness of different strategies, including expanding MOUD access. While it uses data specific to Massachusetts, it can be adapted for other locations with the right data. Explore our documentation and model materials to learn more.

Models populations at high risk for opioid use disorder
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Simulates groups of people moving between health states
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Analyzes the impact of policy changes on health outcomes and costs
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Presents information about the impact of medication on substance use
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RESPOND Model Materials

RESPOND simulates opioid use disorder as a series of transitions between health states defined by:

  1. Active vs non-active drug use
  2. Injection vs. non-injection drug use

Active use states have a risk of overdose, as well as higher healthcare utilization, with the highest risk and highest cost being among active injection use. The model also includes OUD treatment and settings such as community-based buprenorphine-naloxone, community-based injectable naltrexone, methadone maintenance programs, acute inpatient detoxification centers, long-term residential treatment centers, and detention settings.
The model also includes simulation of the period of increased overdose risk following a period of prolonged abstinence, such as when patients disengage from medications-based therapy, leave a detox center, or are released from jail. More detailed information can be found in the technical appendix and the terminology glossary.