Differences Between Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder Referred to Outpatient or Residential Treatment: An...

Area of Science:

• Addiction Medicine
• Clinical Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Optimal treatment outcomes for alcohol use disorder (AUD) depend on appropriate setting and level of care.
• Residential treatment is suggested for severe AUD, co-occurring mental health disorders, and social/functional issues, but referral patterns are unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in key patient characteristics between those receiving outpatient versus residential AUD treatment.
• To determine if patient characteristics align with evidence-based recommendations for treatment setting placement.

Main Methods:

• Bivariate association tests were employed to compare outpatient and residential groups.
• Key characteristics assessed included alcohol use severity (AUDIT), other drug use, mental health, cognitive, personality, physical, and social functioning.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in alcohol use severity were found, with the residential group scoring higher on the AUDIT.
• Patients in residential treatment were older and less likely to be employed compared to outpatients.
• No significant differences were reported for other drug use, mental health, cognitive, personality, physical, or social functioning.

Conclusions:

• Alcohol use severity is the primary differentiator between patients in outpatient and residential AUD treatment settings.
• Findings suggest a need to re-evaluate referral criteria to ensure patients are placed in the most appropriate and effective treatment setting based on severity.