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Substance abuse intensive outpatient treatment: does program graduation matter?
Amy E Wallace1, William B Weeks
1Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. amy.e.wallace@dartmouth.edu
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
|June 30, 2004
Summary
Completing substance abuse treatment, even in intensive outpatient programs, leads to better outcomes. Program graduates showed reduced inpatient stays and improved abstinence rates compared to dropouts.
Area of Science:
- Addiction Medicine
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Program graduation is a potential indicator of treatment success in substance abuse.
- Understanding the impact of completing intensive outpatient programs is crucial for veterans.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare social outcomes and inpatient utilization between graduates and dropouts of a Veterans Affairs substance abuse program.
- To assess the impact of program completion on long-term patient well-being and healthcare resource use.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study of patients in a Veterans Affairs intensive outpatient substance abuse program.
- Analysis of social outcomes and psychiatric inpatient utilization before and after treatment for program graduates and dropouts.
Main Results:
- Graduates and dropouts were similar at enrollment.
- Program completers had significantly fewer psychiatric inpatient bed days post-treatment compared to their pre-treatment use and compared to dropouts.
- Graduates reported higher abstinence rates and lower rates of relapse and incarceration at 6-month follow-up.
Conclusions:
- Graduation from intensive outpatient substance abuse programs is associated with improved clinical and social outcomes.
- Further research is needed to optimize treatment duration for maximizing completion rates and resource utilization.