In a groundbreaking achievement for the School of Public Health, Mia Kirk, a fourth-year Ph.D. student specializing in Social and Behavioral Health, has been awarded the prestigious R36 Dissertation Award. This accolade marks a significant milestone as Kirk becomes the first student in the School’s history to secure this highly competitive grant.
The NIDA R36 Dissertation Award provides substantial funding crucial for Kirk's doctoral research, ensuring financial support for the remainder of her academic journey. The focus of Kirk's dissertation is on harm reduction vending machines (HRVMs), an innovative public health intervention gaining traction across the United States. She is conducting her research under the guidance of University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno Foundation Professor Karla Wagner, Ph.D., in the Department of Health Behavior, Policy and Administration Sciences in the School of Public Health.
Kirk’s research is in collaboration with , a Las Vegas based nonprofit and the only syringe service program in Southern ÁùºÏ±¦µä. Trac B first introduced HRVMs in Las Vegas in 2017 as part of their mission to prevent the harms associated with injection drug use and as a proactive response to the opioid overdose crisis. The aim of the vending machines to broaden access to life-saving resources like naloxone, fentanyl test strips, injection kits, hygiene kits, first aid supplies and more. Trac B now operates the nine HRVMs throughout the state.
Currently immersed in data collection, Kirk has embarked on fieldwork, which so far includes site visits to six of the nine vending machines located in Las Vegas, Hawthorne, Sparks and Reno. Additionally, Kirk has already conducted 20 in-depth interviews with individuals who have utilized these machines, marking a crucial step in pioneering research within the United States on harm reduction interventions.
“Findings from this study will tell us who is using harm reduction vending machines, who is not using them, what motivates and restricts their use and areas for improvement to increase utilization. This information is vitally important to public health practitioners where resources are limited and data-driven decisions produce better outcomes,” Kirk said.
The study aims to shed light on how harm reduction vending machines can mitigate harms associated with substance use and contribute to community health. Dean Muge Akpinar-Elci of the School of Public Health provides, “Mia’s research not only enriches our academic community but has also raised the bar on what accessible healthcare and harm reduction could and should look like.” This achievement not only underscores Kirk's academic prowess but also highlights the School's commitment to pioneering research that addresses critical public health challenges.
For more details on Kirk's study, .
