A national comparison of public- and private-sector alcoholism treatment delivery system characteristics

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the question of the existence, nationally, of separate public- and private-sector alcoholism treatment delivery systems in regard to the economic status of clients served, types of care provided and treatment setting. The analysis was based on data from the 1982 National Federal Census Survey of Treatment units. Public- and private-sector profiles based on the aforementioned delivery system characteristics were constructed and compared. Each of the profiles was also compared to a hypothesized profile, based on perceptions drawn from the literature, of the characteristics of treatment delivery in the private sector, generally, or the private-for-profit sector, specifically. The results of the analysis support the conclusion that two separate systems of treatment delivery existed, nationally, during the study period. The distribution of the nation's alcoholism treatment units among the public and private ownership sectors and ownership trends were also investigated using data from national federal census surveys conducted in 1979, 1980, 1982 and 1984. The implications of the study findings for the future are discussed.