The impact that drug and alcohol treatments can have vary on a case by case basis and the only way to improve overall treatments is to study the overall effectiveness. This effectiveness is measured by the number of people who successfully complete treatment versus the number that drop out of treatment.
Overall, clients in outpatient treatment programs prove to have the lowest treatment completion rates of all treatment types. As a result, it is important to understand those characteristics common in clients who successfully complete treatment and identify those who are at a higher risk for failing to complete treatment.
According to The Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) Report for April 23, 2009, a number of factors can contribute to a person’s success in an outpatient treatment program. This particular report examined the Treatment Outcomes Among Clients Discharged from Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment.
This research points to one certainty in successful completion rates: those who reported primary alcohol abuse had the highest completion rate among clients discharged from outpatient service settings in 2005. By comparison, completion rates were the lowest for those who reported primary opiate or cocaine abuse.
There also appeared to be a variance in the genders and educational levels. Males were more likely than females to complete outpatient treatment. In addition, as the educational level increased, so did the proportion of client discharges that had successfully completed treatment.
The way in which the client had been referred into treatment also played a role in their likelihood of successful completion. Those clients who were referred to treatment through an employer or Employee Assistance Program (EAP) or the criminal justice system were more likely to complete the outpatient treatment than those referred by other means.
In 2005, there were 1.37 million client discharges with a reported reason for discharge from either outpatient or intensive outpatient care. Among this group, 44 percent completed treatment, 25 percent dropped out of treatment and 8 percent had their treatment terminated by the facility. These findings indicate that outpatient client discharges were more likely to complete treatment than to drop out or have services terminated by the facility.
Clients reporting to treatment with an alcohol addiction tended to fare better than their opiate or cocaine addicted counterparts. Of those outpatient client discharges with alcohol as the primary abuse substance, treatment was completed by 46 percent. For those with an opiate abuse problem, completion was only 23 percent, while cocaine addicts completed treatment 25 percent of the time.
Gender and race also tended to play a strong role in a client’s ability to complete treatment. Males were more likely to complete treatment than females at 39 versus 32 percent. A similar proportion was also represented among those who dropped out of treatment.
Treatment completion appeared to be highest among Whites and Asian/Pacific Islanders who reported a 40 percent success rate. The lowest rate of 27 percent was among Blacks. The latter was also the only group in which a lower proportion completed outpatient treatment than dropped out of the treatment, represented by 27 percent versus 32 percent. Hispanic clients discharged as completed or dropped out came in at 35 and 33 percent respectively.
Those clients who were discharged with successful completion of the outpatient treatment program also increased as the level of education increased. While those with less than a high school education completed treatment 31 percent of the time; those with some college completed treatment 41 percent of the time. Employment also played a factor as those with a job tended to complete treatment more often than those without work.
While all of these factors contributed to the likelihood of whether or not a client would successfully complete outpatient treatment for substance abuse, the findings from this analysis prove that client discharges were more likely to have completed treatment than to have dropped out or been terminated by the facility. Understanding all characteristics that contribute to successful completion of a program can help to improve that program and therefore maximize the benefit to the entire client base.
Comments on this entry are closed.