Office of Medical Communications

Elias Klemperer, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and psychological science and a co-director at the University of Vermont’s Center on Rural Addiction

(DECEMBER 11, 2023) Elias Klemperer, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and psychological science and a co-director at the University of Vermont’s Center on Rural Addiction, commented to VT Digger for an article on access to substance use prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery in rural Vermont.

In rural areas, where people must use a car or rely on an infrequent transit bus to reach everyday needs, the barrier to accessing substance use disorder services is much higher than in urban areas, Klemperer said. “Just by definition of being rural, there are often fewer providers around. It makes increasing access to harm reduction even more important.”