People

Martha Tillson
Martha Tillson, PhD
University of Kentucky College of Medicine – Research Assistant Professor
Email: martha.tillson@uky.edu
Education
PhD, Sociology, University of Kentucky
MA, Sociology, University of Kentucky
BA, Social Work and Psychology, University of Kentucky
Research Interests
Peer recovery support, stigma, harm reduction, medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), injection drug use, overdose risk reduction, criminal legal system involvement, PWL/LE inclusion in research, intersectionality, social networks
BIO
Martha Tillson is a sociologist by training and an Assistant Research Professor in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Department of Behavioral Science, and Center on Drug and Alcohol Research. Her research centers on individuals’ experiences of substance use/misuse and related risks, with a focus on factors and services that support harm reduction and recovery, particularly interventions leveraging the expertise of peer recovery support specialists (PRSS). Dr. Tillson has contributed to several projects focused on substance use services and supports for individuals with criminal legal system involvement, including the NIDA-funded Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) and an ongoing statewide evaluation of corrections-based substance use treatment programming (the Criminal Justice Kentucky Treatment Outcome Study, CJKTOS). Her recent work in collaboration with recovery community centers focuses on stigma related to medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder, intersectional substance use stigma, and development of harm reduction materials for use by PRSS. This work is motivated and informed by her academic background in psychology and social work, desire to reduce stigma and drug-related harms, and lived experience as a person in recovery.
Projects
Principal Investigator, A Mixed-methods Approach to Understanding Multidimensional Substance Use-related Stigma. Active
Principal Investigator, Drug Checking as a Tool for Peer Support Specialists to Support Individuals in Non-abstinence-based Recovery. Active
Publications

Recent

Bell JS, Tillson M, Anvari MS, Blonigen DM, McGovern M, Magidson JF (2025).
Implementation factors influencing peer-delivered behavioral evidence-based interventions for substance use disorders: A scoping review
Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research [Epub 2025 Aug 21]. doi: 10.1007/s10488-025-01470-x.

Fallin-Bennett A, Tillson M, Annett J, Feld H, Staton M (2025).
Correlates of recovery capital among women in jails: Leveraging a dimensional recovery framework
Addiction Research and Theory, [Epub 2025 Aug 7]. doi: 10.1080/16066359.2025.2537121.

Staton M, Tillson M, Terrill D, Oser C, Leukefeld C, Fanucchi L, McCollister K, Dickson MF, Winston E, Annett J, Webster JM (2025).
Outcomes following two models of treatment linkage facilitation for women with a history of OUD following jail release
Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 174, 209702. doi: 10.1016/j.josat.2025.209702. PMCID: PMC12158640.

Dickson MF, Jamison SM, Webster JM, Tillson M, Oser CB, Annett J, Staton M (2025).
A descriptive analysis of rural-urban overdose experiences among incarcerated women with opioid use disorder
American Journal on Addictions, 34 (4), 460-464. doi: 10.1111/ajad.70025.

Traxler HK, Tillson M, Booty M, Batty E, Oser CB (2025).
Utilization of Kentucky syringe service programs in a justice-involved sample of people who inject drugs
Journal of Drug Issues [Epub 2025 May 25]. doi: 10.1177/00220426251345336.


Notable

Tillson M, Lewis AH (2024).
Quality of participants’ relationships to peer recovery support specialists as a function of perceived similarities: An exploratory analysis
Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, 12, 100263. doi: 10.1016/j.dadr.2024.100263. PMCID: PMC11393596.

Watson DP, Tillson M, Taylor L, Xu H, Ouyang F, Beaudoin FL, O'Donnell D, McGuire AB (2024).
Results from the POINT pragmatic randomized trial: An emergency department-based peer support specialist intervention to increase opioid use disorder treatment linkage and reduce recurrent overdose
Substance Use & Addiction Journal, 45 (3), 378-389. doi: 10.1177/29767342231221054. PMCID: PMC11179981.

Tillson M, Fallin-Bennett A, Staton M (2022).
Providing peer navigation services to women with a history of opioid misuse pre- and post-release from jail: A program description
Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 6 (1), e106. doi: 10.1017/cts.2022.441. PMCID: PMC9453575.

Dr. Tillson's profile on Scholars@UK