SHIELD 2.0 Kentucky | SHIELD 2.0

Rethinking the Behavioral Health-Public Safety Interface:

SHIELD 2.0

Kentucky

Project SHIELD 2.0

The existing SHIELD Model relies on years of experience and research, but its reach has been limited. We are working to scale up its impact by developing a new model dubbed SHIELD 2.0. Called “Project SHIELD 2.0: Police Education to Support Public Health in Kentucky,” this study examines the utility of SHIELD in the hands of the behavioral health workforce.

Set in Appalachian Kentucky, a region hard-hit by the overdose and addiction crisis, "Project SHIELD 2.0" equips the behavioral health workforce to more effectively interface with law enforcement.

Our ultimate goal is to increase access to HIV prevention and other behavioral health
services by minimizing adverse encounters between law enforcement and program staff and clients.

Study Phases

Phase I

Stakeholder engagement to assess feasibility and acceptability of SHIELD 2.0.
Train a behavioral health champion to conduct the community planning process, train a law enforcement trainer, and deliver SHIELD training.
Pilot customized SHIELD training.

Phase II

Implement SHIELD 2.0 in Appalachian Kentucky.
Evaluate SHIELD 2.0 implementation and outcomes among law enforcement officers and behavioral health workers.
Survey local people who use drugs about experiences with law enforcement to
validate impact.

Collaboration

In close collaboration with the University of Kentucky, this study builds on interdisciplinary
expertise of researchers from Johns Hopkins, San Diego State, and Northeastern
Universities. It also involves collaborators from Brown and UC San Diego. The project is
led by a team of three principal investigators:

Javier Cepeda, PhD is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins. His role
on the project is to lead modeling and economic evaluation.

Leo Beletsky, JD, MPH is a Professor of Law and Health Sciences at Northeastern
University and Director of The Action Lab. His role on the project is to lead development
and calibration of train-the-trainer model.

Eileen Pitpitan, PhD is a Professor of Social Work at San Diego State
University and Co-Director of the San Diego Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Health
Equity Sociobehavioral Science Core. Her role on the project is to lead implementation
science operations.

Study Personnel