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REVIEW article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Substance Use Disorders and Behavioral Addictions

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1587101

This article is part of the Research TopicInnovations in Recovery Science: Pathways, Policies, and Platforms that Promote Thriving After AddictionView all 20 articles

Supporting Linkage Facilitators Working with Persons with Opioid Use Disorder: Challenges, Advances, and Future Directions

Provisionally accepted
Tess DrazdowskiTess Drazdowski1Anthony P Coetzer-LiversageAnthony P Coetzer-Liversage2,3*Lynda SteinLynda Stein3,4,5Martha TillsonMartha Tillson6Dennis WatsonDennis Watson1Lauren A HoffmanLauren A Hoffman7Aaron HogueAaron Hogue8Sierra Julia Castedo de MartellSierra Julia Castedo de Martell1Angela Marie HagamanAngela Marie Hagaman1Neil GreeneNeil Greene9Shannon Gwin MitchellShannon Gwin Mitchell10Milan F SatcherMilan F Satcher11,12,13Jodie DeweyJodie Dewey1Ashli SheidowAshli Sheidow1Noel VestNoel Vest14
  • 1Chestnut Health Systems, Bloomington, Illinois, United States
  • 2ServeMinnesota, Minneapolis, United States
  • 3Department of Psychology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, United States
  • 4Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States
  • 5Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, Cranston, Rhode Island, United States
  • 6Center on Drugs and Addiction Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States
  • 7Recovery Research Institute, Center of Addiction Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  • 8Partnership to End Addiction, New York, United States
  • 9University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
  • 10Friends Research Institute, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, United States
  • 11Department of Community & Family Medicine, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States
  • 12The Dartmouth Institute of Health Policy, Giesel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States
  • 13The Dartmouth Institute of Health Policy & Clinical Practice, Giesel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, United States
  • 14Department of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States

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This narrative review explores the evolving role of linkage facilitation (LF) in supporting persons with opioid use disorder (OUD) including both the organizational strategies to initiate and sustain LF services and strategies to support the LF workforce. Drawing on expert consensus and iterative review by an interdisciplinary author team, we synthesized relevant literature from diverse fields using a narrative review approach. Organizational strategies include: ensure leadership support, engage community partners and tailor services, consult with those already delivering LF services, provide adequate pay and career advancement opportunities, establish role clarification, and create official documentation of LF services. Strategies to support the LF workforce include: ensure comprehensive training and continuing education, provide robust supervision, encourage self-care, and establish quality/fidelity standards. Recommendations for advancing the profession include enhancing training for both LFs and supervisors, establishing centralized resource libraries, and tailoring support for diverse OUD-affected populations. This review advocates for the development of best practice guidelines, practical evaluation tools, and a collaborative resource-sharing hub to ensure long-term LF workforce sustainability and improved outcomes for those served.

Keywords: Linkage Facilitation, Opioid use disorder, Medication for opioid use disorder, Workforce support, professional standards

Received: 03 Mar 2025; Accepted: 27 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Drazdowski, Coetzer-Liversage, Stein, Tillson, Watson, Hoffman, Hogue, Castedo de Martell, Hagaman, Greene, Mitchell, Satcher, Dewey, Sheidow and Vest. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Anthony P Coetzer-Liversage, ServeMinnesota, Minneapolis, United States

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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