The relative impact of waiting time and treatment entry on drug and alcohol use.

Abstract

One hundred and twenty-three treatment-seeking substance misusers were recruited to a study assessing the early impact of treatment. Participants were interviewed at treatment entry and 3 and 6 months later, regardless of their treatment status (i.e. including those who had dropped out of treatment), while additional data were obtained from the two assessment interviews carried out prior to the initiation of treatment. Three consistent observations can be applied to both the opiate misuser (n = 61) and problem drinker samples (n = 62): (1) the period of pre-treatment wait (mean of 8 weeks) was characterized by stable patterns of substance misuse with no significant 'spontaneous' improvement in indices of severity of drug or alcohol problems; (2) the period immediately following initiation of treatment was associated with substantial reductions in the quantity and frequency of substance use, an effect not influenced by the length of time for treatment initiation; (3) these benefits are maintained to 6 months after treatment initiation. The waiting period for treatment initiation does not seem to be characterized by significant changes in drug or alcohol use patterns, at least among those who made it into treatment, with clear and sustained improvements irrespective of the length of treatment wait.

• Authors: David Best, Alison Noble, Gayle Ridge, Michael Gossop, Michael Farrell, John Strang
• Journal: Addiction biology (Addict Biol) Vol. 7 Issue 1 Pg. 67-74 (Jan 2002) ISSN: 1355-6215 [Print] United States
• PMID: 11900624 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Topics

• Adult
• Alcoholism (epidemiology, rehabilitation)
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• London (epidemiology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Opioid-Related Disorders (epidemiology, rehabilitation)
• Patient Dropouts (statistics & numerical data)
• Urban Population (statistics & numerical data)
• Waiting Lists