The SPECS study is a 5-year, longitudinal cohort study with sites at Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The University of Miami, and The University of Kentucky. The overall aim of the project is to assess the acceptability, utilization, and barriers/facilitators  of preventative healthcare treatment for individuals with recent criminal justice experience.

​

This study is guided by the Social Ecological Model and the NIMHD Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Framework, which both have a focus extending beyond the individual and acknowledge that multi-level (individual, social, and structural) factors play a role in the perpetuation of persistent health disparities.