Patient and program factors in obtaining supportive services in DATOS

Abstract

This study examined patient and program factors that influenced the receipt of scheduled supportive services in the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Studies (DATOS). Patients (N = 2,932) in 21 long-term residential (LTR) programs, 27 outpatient methadone treatment (OMT), and 25 outpatient drug-free programs were interviewed at admission and at 3 months during treatment. A hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between patient-level and program-level factors associated with receiving supportive services in seven categories (medical, psychological, family, legal, educational, vocational, and financial). LTR patients received more services on average than outpatients (especially OMT), but patients overall received few services in the first 3 months of treatment. The patient-level likelihood of receiving services was related to being female and to having higher problem severity at intake. At the program level, outpatient clientele with higher problem severity received more services if they entered a program whose other enrolled patients were less troubled on average.