| Course | PAC 799A Addiction Studies Capstone |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | Problem and purpose section |
| Length | About 1,024 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 2
Why Sixty-Two Percent Leave Empty-Handed: Problem, Purpose and Significance of a Jail Naloxone Capstone
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
PAC 799A: Addiction Studies Capstone
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Why Sixty-Two Percent Leave Empty-Handed: Problem, Purpose and Significance of a Jail Naloxone Capstone
Avery's capstone, proposed in the first module, concerns naloxone kits offered as people leave Pine Hollow, the fictional Georgia county jail used throughout this course, as is Avery. This section states the problem, identifies the gap the project will address, sets out its purpose and explains why it matters.
The Problem
People leaving jail or prison who have used opioids face an extreme and predictable risk of fatal overdose in the first weeks after release, because tolerance falls during incarceration. Naloxone reverses opioid overdose, and programs that place it in the hands of people at risk and those around them are associated with fewer deaths. At Pine Hollow, nurses hand over a kit with a quick demonstration whenever a person flagged at booking for opioid use is released, if the person agrees. In the most recent year, 38 percent agreed: 157 people out of 412. Most people at highest risk therefore left without the antidote. The problem this capstone addresses is low uptake of naloxone kits at release from Pine Hollow.
Evidence That the Problem Matters
Bird et al. (2016) evaluated Scotland's national naloxone program, which from 2011 distributed take-home naloxone in the community and to prisoners at release. They compared the share of opioid-related deaths that occurred within four weeks of release from prison before the program, from 2006 to 2010, with the share afterward, from 2011 to 2013. The share fell from about 9.8 percent to about 6.3 percent, a reduction of roughly a third, which the authors attributed at least in part to the program.
Walley et al. (2013) studied overdose education and naloxone distribution across nineteen Massachusetts communities using an interrupted time series, which compares trends before and after a change. Communities where the program enrolled more people per head of population saw clearly fewer overdose deaths per head than towns where nobody enrolled, and the reduction was larger where enrollment was higher. The study suggested that how widely naloxone reaches people matters, not merely whether a program exists.
Green et al. (2018) showed what correctional systems can accomplish more broadly. After Rhode Island began offering all three medications for opioid use disorder to people in its unified jail and prison system, overdose deaths among recently released people fell sharply in the following year compared with the year before. Although their study concerned medication rather than naloxone, it demonstrated that action at the point of release can change outcomes.
The Gap
Research has established that the weeks after release are dangerous and that naloxone distribution saves lives. Much less is known about uptake at the moment of release: what share of people accept a kit when offered, what influences that decision and how the way the offer is made affects it. Published evaluations usually report kits distributed, not kits declined, and seldom ask the people declining why. At Pine Hollow, staff have offered explanations, such as stigma, fear of being seen as a drug user and rushed late-night releases, but no one has tested them. The gap, then, is knowledge about why eligible people decline naloxone kits at release and whether a change in how the offer is made increases uptake.
Purpose
The purpose of this mixed-methods program evaluation is to describe naloxone kit uptake among people with opioid use histories released from the Pine Hollow County Detention Center, to explore why eligible people accept or decline kits and to assess whether changing the offer to an opt-out default increases uptake.
Who Is Affected
The people most affected are those released with opioid use histories, about thirty-four a month at Pine Hollow, and their families and friends, who are the most likely bystanders to an overdose in the weeks after release. Staff are affected too. Nurses report frustration at offering kits that are refused, and re-entry staff have no clear guidance on what to say. The county is affected through emergency calls, hospital costs and deaths that a wider reach might prevent.
Why Uptake Is Worth Studying Now
The timing favors the project. The county health department has supplied kits at no cost to the jail since last year and has asked for data on how they are used. The jail administrator has said that the release process will be reviewed this year. And the number of eligible releases, about thirty-four a month, is large enough to show changes in uptake within a few months but small enough for one case manager to track. A study now can shape decisions that will be made regardless.
Significance
For practice, the findings will tell Pine Hollow's nurses and re-entry staff whether a simple change to the release process can put more kits in people's hands, and what to say when they offer them. For policy, they will give the jail administrator and county health department evidence on which to base a standing order for naloxone at release and, potentially, on which to build toward medication for opioid use disorder. For the field, the project will add a description of uptake and refusal at release, a step in the naloxone pathway that published evaluations often skip, and will test a low-cost change other jails could copy.
Checking Alignment
| Element | Statement |
|---|---|
| Problem | Most people with opioid use histories leave Pine Hollow without the naloxone kit they were offered |
| Gap | Little is known about why people decline kits at release or how the offer affects uptake |
| Purpose | Describe uptake, explore reasons and test an opt-out offer |
| Significance | Practical guidance for staff, evidence for policy and a contribution on an understudied step in naloxone distribution |
Conclusion
The problem is specific and measurable: 62 percent of eligible people leave Pine Hollow without naloxone during the weeks of highest overdose risk. Bird and colleagues, Walley and colleagues and Green and colleagues show that action at release and wider naloxone coverage are associated with fewer deaths. The gap concerns uptake and refusal at the moment of release, and the purpose statement commits the project to describing, explaining and testing a change. Each element leads to the next, preparing for research questions in the following module.
References
Bird, S. M., McAuley, A., Perry, S., & Hunter, C. (2016). Effectiveness of Scotland's National Naloxone Programme for reducing opioid-related deaths: A before (2006-10) versus after (2011-13) comparison. Addiction, 111(5), 883-891. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.13265
Green, T. C., Clarke, J., Brinkley-Rubinstein, L., Marshall, B. D. L., Alexander-Scott, N., Boss, R., & Rich, J. D. (2018). Postincarceration fatal overdoses after implementing medications for addiction treatment in a statewide correctional system. JAMA Psychiatry, 75(4), 405-407. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.4614
Walley, A. Y., Xuan, Z., Hackman, H. H., Quinn, E., Doe-Simkins, M., Sorensen-Alawad, A., Ruiz, S., & Ozonoff, A. (2013). Opioid overdose rates and implementation of overdose education and nasal naloxone distribution in Massachusetts: Interrupted time series analysis. BMJ, 346, Article f174. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f174
Reading the PAC 799A Module 2 assignment instructions
Problem and purpose sections are the second module of PAC 799A, and the usual request is a problem backed by evidence, a named gap, write a purpose statement and explain significance. Treat the Module 2 instructions in your Aspen course as authoritative; the jail here is invented. State the problem specifically, with local data and published evidence. Identify what is not known that your project will address. Write the purpose in one clear sentence naming the design, setting and focus. Explain significance for practice, policy and the field. Check that problem, gap and purpose align. Cite every source in APA 7. Keep the significance concrete by naming who will use the findings, such as staff, administrators or other programs, and for what decision.
How the PAC 799A Module 2 example is put together
At the composite Pine Hollow jail, 157 of 412 eligible people took a naloxone kit at release over a year. Bird and colleagues' Addiction study of Scotland's national program shows a fall in deaths soon after prison release. Walley and colleagues' BMJ interrupted time series links naloxone distribution to lower overdose death rates. Green and colleagues' JAMA Psychiatry study shows postrelease overdose deaths falling after Rhode Island corrections began offering medication. The gap is the lack of research on why people decline kits at release and on how the offer is made. A four-row table checks alignment from problem to significance. The significance section names three audiences, the jail's staff, county policymakers and other programs, and says what each could do with the findings.
Where the marks sit in the PAC 799A Module 2 rubric
Problem and purpose sections earn credit for a specific, evidenced problem, a clear gap, a one-sentence purpose and significance that goes beyond general importance. This example combines local data with strong published evidence. The gap is narrow and real: uptake at release has been little studied. The purpose sentence names the design, setting, population and focus. Significance is explained for three audiences. The alignment table shows each part leading to the next, which committees check closely. The section avoids promising effects on deaths that the project cannot measure. It also defines the gap as missing knowledge about refusal, not as a missing program, which is the distinction committees press students on.
Common PAC 799A Module 2 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Problem statements often describe a large social problem without narrowing it to the project. Move from the broad problem to the specific one at your site. Use numbers. State the gap as something not known, not something not done. Write the purpose in one sentence, and make sure your questions will follow from it. Explain significance specifically: who will use the findings and how. Do not promise outcomes your project cannot measure. Read your problem, gap and purpose aloud in sequence; if one does not follow from the last, revise until it does, because later chapters inherit any misalignment. Keep the purpose sentence identical wherever it appears in the manuscript, since small wording drift between chapters is a common reason drafts come back.
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.
More PAC 799A and Psychology and Addiction Studies sample papers
- PAC 799A Module 1: Choosing a Capstone Topic
- PAC 799A Module 3: Research Questions and Definitions
- PAC 799A Module 4: Chapter 1: Introduction
- PAC 799A Module 5: Literature Search and Synthesis Plan
- PAC 799A Module 6: Chapter 2: Literature Review
- PAC 799A Module 7: Planning the Method
- PAC 799A Module 8: Defending the Method
- PAC 799B Module 8: Final Manuscript and Presentation
- PAC 610 Module 7: Side Effects, Interactions and Adherence
- ADC 630 Module 6: Medications and Contingency Management
- PAC 405 Module 1: Helping Children and the Drivers of Juvenile Substance Use
PAC 799A Module 2 questions, answered
What does PAC 799A Module 2 usually ask for?
Aspen's PAC 799A covers the problem, purpose and significance in this module, so stating the problem with evidence and writing an aligned purpose statement is typical. Check your Module 2 prompt.
Does giving naloxone at prison release save lives?
Bird and colleagues found that after Scotland's national naloxone program began, the share of opioid deaths in the four weeks after prison release fell by about a third.
What is a purpose statement?
One sentence stating what the study will do, with what design, in what setting and population and with what focus.
Where can I find a free PAC 799A Module 2 sample paper?
Find the full section above: the problem, gap, purpose and significance of a jail naloxone capstone, with an alignment table.
What is a gap in the literature?
Something not yet known that matters to the problem, which your project can help answer; it should be stated as missing knowledge, not missing action.