| Course | PAC 799A Addiction Studies Capstone |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | Graduate capstone topic proposal |
| Length | About 1,059 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PAC 799A Module 1
The Kit Left Behind: Proposing a Capstone on Naloxone Uptake at Release From a County Jail
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
PAC 799A: Addiction Studies Capstone
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
The Kit Left Behind: Proposing a Capstone on Naloxone Uptake at Release From a County Jail
Avery is a graduate student in Aspen University's addiction studies program and works as a re-entry case manager at a Georgia jail, the Pine Hollow County Detention Center, which, like Avery and its records, is invented for this paper. The jail holds about 600 people, most for weeks or months. Since last year, the jail's nurses have offered a naloxone kit, with a short demonstration, to each departing person whose booking screen flagged opioid use. Avery noticed something in the release logs: most people declined. Of 412 eligible people released over twelve months, 157 took a kit, or 38 percent. This proposal compares three possible capstone topics and makes the case for studying why so many kits are left behind.
The Setting and My Role
As a re-entry case manager, Avery meets people in the weeks before release to plan housing, benefits and treatment referrals and has access, with approval, to de-identified release and screening records. Avery works alongside two jail nurses, a contracted mental health team and a community recovery organization that sends peer mentors into the jail twice a week. The jail administrator has encouraged staff to improve re-entry outcomes and has said that a capstone project could help.
Three Candidate Topics
| Topic | Importance | Feasibility in two terms | Fit with role and goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naloxone kit uptake at release | High: the first weeks after release carry extreme overdose risk; most eligible people leave without a kit | High: release logs exist; offer process can be improved and measured quickly | Strong: Avery helps plan releases and works with the nurses |
| Continuing medication for opioid use disorder after release | Very high: interruption raises death risk | Low: the jail does not yet provide medication; would require policy change beyond the project | Strong, but outside Avery's influence for now |
| Peer mentoring at re-entry | Moderate to high: may improve treatment entry | Moderate: outcomes occur after release and are hard to track | Good: links with the community recovery organization |
Why the Weeks After Release Matter
Binswanger et al. (2007) followed more than 30,000 people released from prison in Washington State and compared their deaths with those of other state residents. In the first two weeks after release, former inmates died at about twelve times the expected rate, and their risk of dying of a drug overdose was about 129 times higher. Overdose was the leading cause of death after release. The authors pointed to lost tolerance during incarceration, return to environments associated with drug use and limited access to treatment.
Merrall et al. (2010) pooled cohort studies from several countries and found the same pattern: drug-related deaths were three to eight times more frequent in the first two weeks after release than in the following ten weeks. The risk, in other words, is concentrated in a short and predictable window, which makes it a target for action at the moment of release.
Why Naloxone at Release
Naloxone, sprayed into the nose by a friend or relative, can bring a person back from an opioid overdose. McDonald and Strang (2016) systematically reviewed evaluations of take-home naloxone programs and assessed them against the Bradford Hill criteria, a set of considerations for judging whether an association is likely causal. They concluded that the evidence supports take-home naloxone as reducing overdose mortality, with naloxone administered successfully in the large majority of recorded uses and few serious adverse events. A kit carried by a person leaving jail, or left with their family, puts the antidote where overdoses are most likely to happen in the following weeks.
What the Project Might Look Like
The likely project is a program evaluation with an improvement component. In PAC 799A, Avery would study the current offer: how many people accept, how acceptance varies by time of release and other factors and why people decline, through records and interviews. In PAC 799B, Avery would help the jail test a change to the offer, such as including a kit in each eligible person's property bag unless the person opts out, and measure whether uptake rises. The outcome, kit uptake, is modest, but it is measurable within the capstone and lies on the path to fewer deaths.
Early Risks
Several risks need attention now. Research involving people in custody carries special ethical protections, and both the jail and Aspen will need to review and approve the project; Avery will begin those conversations in the first weeks. Release records may be incomplete, particularly for releases at night or directly from court. Interviewing people after release will be harder than interviewing them inside, and Avery may need to rely on the community recovery organization to reach them. And the project cannot measure overdose deaths directly, which are too rare in one county to show change in a year; it will rely on uptake as an intermediate outcome.
Who Will Be Involved
The project depends on several groups. The two jail nurses make the offer at release and will be central to any change in how it is made. Booking officers complete the opioid screen that determines eligibility. The re-entry team, including Avery, plans releases and could prepare kits in advance. The community recovery organization's peer mentors may help reach people after release for interviews. And the jail administrator and the county health department, which supplies the kits, must approve any change. Avery has spoken with each group informally, and all have agreed in principle to take part.
Fit With Professional Goals
Avery hopes to lead re-entry services for a county or state corrections system. A project that improves an existing service, uses the jail's own data and involves nurses, officers and peers prepares for that work better than a literature-only project would. It also builds a case for the larger goal the comparison table set aside: offering medication for opioid use disorder before release.
Conclusion
Of the three topics considered, naloxone kit uptake at release combines high importance, strong feasibility and a clear fit with Avery's role. The weeks after release carry extreme overdose risk, as Binswanger and colleagues and Merrall and colleagues show, and take-home naloxone is effective, as McDonald and Strang conclude. Most eligible people at Pine Hollow leave without a kit. Understanding why, and testing a way to change it, is a capstone that can be finished and that matters.
References
Binswanger, I. A., Stern, M. F., Deyo, R. A., Heagerty, P. J., Cheadle, A., Elmore, J. G., & Koepsell, T. D. (2007). Release from prison: A high risk of death for former inmates. New England Journal of Medicine, 356(2), 157-165. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa064115
McDonald, R., & Strang, J. (2016). Are take-home naloxone programmes effective? Systematic review utilizing application of the Bradford Hill criteria. Addiction, 111(7), 1177-1187. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.13326
Merrall, E. L. C., Kariminia, A., Binswanger, I. A., Hobbs, M. S., Farrell, M., Marsden, J., Hutchinson, S. J., & Bird, S. M. (2010). Meta-analysis of drug-related deaths soon after release from prison. Addiction, 105(9), 1545-1554. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.02990.x
PAC 799A Module 1 instructions, in plain terms
The first module of PAC 799A usually asks for a topic proposal for an applied capstone in addiction studies. Use the Module 1 instructions in your Aspen course as your guide; the student and jail here are invented. Describe your setting and role so the reader knows what access you have. Compare more than one topic on importance, feasibility and fit with your goals. Ground the chosen topic in published evidence and, where possible, local data. Show that the project can be finished in two terms. Note early risks such as data access and approvals. Give each source an APA 7 entry and hold the proposal to a single problem. Say briefly what kind of project you expect, such as a program evaluation or a quality improvement study, so your instructor can flag problems with the design early.
Inside the PAC 799A Module 1 example
Avery, a composite re-entry case manager at a Georgia county jail, notices that only 157 of 412 people with opioid use histories released last year took a naloxone kit. A three-row table compares kit uptake, medication continuation after release and peer mentoring. The Washington State cohort reported by Binswanger and colleagues shows how deadly the first fortnight is. Merrall and colleagues' Addiction meta-analysis shows the risk concentrated in the first two weeks. McDonald and Strang's Addiction review supports take-home naloxone. The proposal previews a program evaluation with an improvement to the offer, and it names the approvals needed to work with records of people in custody. A short section on professional goals explains why an improvement project inside the jail suits a future re-entry leader.
Reading the PAC 799A Module 1 grading rubric
Topic proposals earn credit for a well-chosen, feasible topic backed by research and rooted in the student's workplace. Avery's proposal opens with figures from the jail's own logs, which make the problem concrete. The comparison table shows that alternatives were weighed honestly, including a more ambitious topic set aside for feasibility. The evidence comes from strong sources: a large cohort study, a meta-analysis and a systematic review. The proposal links the topic to the student's role and career goals. Early risks, including approvals for research involving incarcerated people, are named rather than discovered late. The scope is narrow enough to finish. The proposal also previews the kind of project to come, so the instructor can comment on design before Chapter 1 is drafted.
PAC 799A Module 1 help: mistakes that cost marks
Capstone topic proposals often choose a problem too large for two terms, such as reducing overdose deaths in a county. Narrow to something you can study and influence in your setting, such as how many people accept a kit. Use local data where you can get it. Compare alternatives honestly. Check data access and approvals before committing, especially if your setting involves people in custody or treatment records. Talk with your supervisor and capstone instructor early. Pick a topic that will hold your interest for two terms; the work is long, and curiosity carries you through the slow parts better than obligation. Write down the alternatives you rejected and why; the reasoning often returns as a limitation or a recommendation for future research in your final chapter.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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PAC 799A Module 1 questions, answered
What does PAC 799A Module 1 usually ask for?
Aspen's PAC 799A begins with choosing a capstone topic, so a proposal comparing candidate topics and justifying one is typical. Look at your Module 1 prompt.
How dangerous is the period after release from prison?
Binswanger and colleagues found the overdose death risk in the first two weeks after release was more than a hundred times that of other residents.
Does take-home naloxone work?
McDonald and Strang's systematic review concluded that take-home naloxone programs reduce overdose deaths, with low rates of adverse events.
Where can I find a free PAC 799A Module 1 sample paper?
This page has the full proposal: three capstone topics compared in a table and the case for studying naloxone uptake at jail release.
How do I choose a capstone topic?
Pick a problem that matters in your setting, that you can study with available data and approvals and that you can finish in the time allowed.