The Washington Circle (WC), a group focused on developing and disseminating performance measures for substance abuse services, developed three such measures for private health plans. In this article, we explore whether these measures are appropriate for meeting measurement goals in the public sector and feasible to calculate in the public sector using data collected for administrative purposes by state and local substance abuse and/or mental health agencies. Working collaboratively, twelve states specified revised measures and six states pilot tested them. Two measures were retained from the original specifications: initiation of treatment and treatment engagement. Additional measures were focused on continuity of care after assessment, detoxification, residential or inpatient care. These data demonstrate that state agencies can calculate performance measures from routinely available information and that there is wide variability in these indicators. Ongoing research is needed to examine the reasons for these results which might include lack of patient interest or commitment, need for quality improvement efforts, or financial issues.

This study presents findings from a quasiexperimental, nonequivalent, group-design study with repeated measures that explored the effects of integrated trauma-informed services on the severity of substance abuse, mental health, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology among women with histories of trauma in urban, community-based substance abuse treatment. The study also explored if the model of integrated services was equally beneficial for women of various racial/ethnic groups. Participants in the study were 342 women receiving substance abuse treatment in intervention and comparison sites. Results indicated that at 6 and 12 month follow-ups, those in the trauma-informed intervention group, in contrast to the comparison group, had significantly better outcomes in drug abstinence rates in the past 30 days as well as in mental health and PTSD symptomatology. Results also showed that, overall, integrated services were beneficial for women across the different racial/ethnic groups in substance abuse treatment, although some differences appear to exist across racial/ethnic groups in improving addiction severity and mental health and PTSD symptomatology.

Background For adolescents, substance use disorder (SUD) treatment outcomes (e.g., abstinence, problematic behaviors) often cannot be measured soon enough to influence treatment trajectory. Although process measures (e.g., treatment engagement) can play an important role, it is essential to demonstrate their association with outcomes. This study explored the extent to which engagement in outpatient treatment was associated with outcomes and whether demographic/clinical characteristics moderated these relationships. Methods This is a prospective study of adolescents (N=1,491) who received outpatient treatment for SUDs at one of 28 treatment sites taking part in a national evidence-based practice implementation initiative. Information from the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs interviews at intake and six-month follow-up, as well as encounter data, were used. Adjusted hierarchical logistic models were used to estimate effects of engagement on six-month outcomes. Results Sixty-one percent of adolescents engaged in outpatient treatment. Adolescents engaging in treatment had significantly lower likelihoods of reporting any substance use (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.41, 0.87), alcohol use (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.45, 0.87), heavy alcohol use (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.33, 0.86), and marijuana use (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.45, 0.93). This association of engagement with abstinence outcomes was not limited to any particular group. Treatment engagement, however, was not associated with adolescents' self-report of illegal activity or trouble controlling behavior at follow-up. Conclusion At the individual level, the Washington Circle engagement measure was a predictor of some positive outcomes for adolescents in outpatient treatment. Efforts to better engage adolescents in treatment could improve quality of care.

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This study examined variations by race/ethnicity in initiation and engagement, two performance measures of treatment for substance use disorders, which focus on the timely receipt of services during the early stage of treatment. Administrative data from the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services were linked with facility-level information from the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services. We found that Black clients were less likely to initiate treatment, but we found no differences in treatment engagement by race/ethnicity. Most client and facility characteristics’ association with initiation or engagement did not differ across racial/ethnic groups. Increased attention is needed to understand what may contribute to the differences found and how to address them. This study also offers an approach that state agencies may implement for monitoring treatment quality and examining racial/ethnic disparities in substance abuse treatment services.

The relationship between engagement in outpatient treatment facilities in the public sector and subsequent arrest is examined for clients in Connecticut, New York, Oklahoma and Washington. Engagement is defined as receiving another treatment service within 14 days of beginning a new episode of specialty treatment and at least two additional services within the next 30 days. Data are from 2008 and survival analysis modeling is used. Survival analyses express the effects of model covariates in terms of “hazard ratios,” which reflect a change in the likelihood of outcome because of the covariate. Engaged clients had a significantly lower hazard of any arrest than non-engaged in all four states. In NY and OK, engaged clients also had a lower hazard of arrest for substance-related crimes. In CT, NY, and OK engaged clients had a lower hazard of arrest for violent crime. Clients in facilities with higher engagement rates had a lower hazard of any arrest in NY and OK. Engaging clients in outpatient treatment is a promising approach to decrease their subsequent criminal justice involvement.

Understanding reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is necessary to ensure maximum uptake, needed for herd immunity. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey between May 29-June 20, 2020 among a national sample of U.S. adults ages 18 years and over to assess cognitive, attitudinal and normative beliefs associated with not intending to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Of 1,219 respondents, 17.7% said that they would not get a vaccine and 24.2% were unsure. In multivariable analyses controlled for gender, age, income, education, religious affiliation, health insurance coverage, and political party affiliation, those who reported that they were unwilling be vaccinated (versus those who were willing) were less likely to agree that vaccines are safe/effective (Relative Risk Ratio (RRR): 0.45, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.31, 0.66), that everyone has a responsibility to be vaccinated (RRR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.30, 0.52), that public authorities should be able to mandate vaccination (RRR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.58, 0.98), and that if everyone else were vaccinated they would not need a vaccine (RRR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.78). Our results suggest that health messages should emphasize the safety and efficacy of vaccines, as well as the fact that vaccinating oneself is important, even if the level of uptake in the community is high.

This study, a collaboration between an academic research center and Washington State’s health, employment and correction departments, investigates the extent to which treatment engagement, a widely adopted performance measure, is associated with employment, an important outcome for individuals receiving treatment for substance use disorders. Two-stage Heckman probit regressions were conducted using 2008 administrative data for 7,570 adults receiving publicly-funded treatment. The first stage predicted employment in the year following the first treatment visit and three separate second stages models predicted number of quarters employed, wages, and hours worked. Engagement as a main effect was not significant for any of the employment outcomes. However, for clients with prior criminal justice involvement, engagement was associated with both employment and higher wages following treatment. Clients with criminal justice involvement face greater challenge regarding employment, so the identification of any actionable step which increases the likelihood of employment or wages is an important result.