Work

How outpatient substance abuse treatment unit director activities may affect provision of community outreach services

Year: 2012

Type: article

Abstract: AIMS: Community outreach services play an important role in infectious disease prevention and engaging drug users not currently in treatment. However, fewer than half of US substance abuse treatment units provide these services and many have little financial incentive to do so. Unit directors generally have latitude about scope of services, including the level of outreach provided to the community. The current study examines how directors' interactions with external stakeholders affect substance abuse treatment units' provision of community outreach services. METHODS: = 547). RESULTS: Findings suggest that the amount of time directors spent with licensing and monitoring associations was associated with provision of a greater number of community outreach services, while time spent with professional and occupational associations was associated with provision of off-site human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C testing. Several other director attributes and organizational characteristics also emerged as significant. CONCLUSIONS: External stakeholders with whom substance abuse treatment directors interact may influence community outreach through their effects on treatment directors' strategic priorities. Implications for policy and prevention efforts are discussed.

Source: Drugs Education Prevention and Policy

DOI: 10.3109/09687637.2012.703261

Authors: Emmeline Chuang, Rebecca Wells, Jeffrey Alexander, Sherri Green

Institutions: San Diego State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Michigan

Language: English

Topic: Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

Subfield: Epidemiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Drug Abuse