Predicting and responding to change: Perceived environmental uncertainty among substance use disorder treatment...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Addiction Treatment
• Organizational Behavior

Background:

• Substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs offering addiction health services (AHS) must adapt to environmental changes.
• Environmental uncertainties can affect service delivery and patient outcomes.
• Research on treatment program preparedness for change is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine reported difficulties in predicting and responding to changes in the AHS system.
• To identify factors associated with these difficulties in SUD treatment programs.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional surveys of SUD treatment programs in the U.S. in 2014 and 2017.
• Telephone surveys collected data on program, staff, and client characteristics.
• Linear and ordered logistic regression analyzed associations with predicting and responding to change.

Main Results:

• The proportion of SUD programs reporting difficulty predicting and responding to change decreased from 2014 to 2017.
• Organizational characteristics are associated with the ability to predict and respond to environmental uncertainty.
• Predicting change is linked to program characteristics; responding to change involves program, staff, and client characteristics.

Conclusions:

• Findings identify program characteristics that enhance adaptability to change.
• Optimizing these aspects can improve program responsiveness and patient outcomes.
• Enhanced adaptability is crucial for navigating resource constraints and improving care delivery.