Case Management: An Alternative Approach to Working With Intravenous Drug Users

Reintegrating women leaving jail into urban communities: a description of a model program

“…66,67 While few case management programs have been subject to rigorous evaluation, Health Link was designed based on outcome data from some programs that indicated success. 49,68 Like other intervention programs for women in jails, the emphasis of Health Link is on rigorous needs assessment and counseling sessions, 69 a client-centered approach, 70 empathetic counselors from similar communities and circumstances, 71 the ability to address prior trauma, 72 and the ability to link with established programs that offer genderspecific approaches to service delivery. 20 The services are provided by staff with extensive personal or professional experiences with incarceration and intimate knowledge of the realities of life in Harlem and the South Bronx.…”

Needle exchange: the Vancouver experience

“…Relatively few addicts, and dependent cocaine users in particular (Stark et al, 1990;Stark, 1992;Festinger, 2002), follow through on referral unless access to treatment is rapid and easy; in Vancouver, it was neither. In the absence of immediate access addicts may need to be supported and shepherded to the door (Bokos et al, 1992;Lidz et al, 1992;Donovan, 2001), a function the exchange was not resourced for and may not have seen as its role. Injectors who knew they were infected with HIV were half as likely to share syringes or needles (Wood et al, 2001a) but, despite making referrals, the exchange also led few injectors to seek an HIV test.…”

Co-Ordination and Continuity of Care in Substance Abuse Treatment

“…The target group for this project consists of a small group of drug users with multiple and complex problems, which is operationalized as persons who are dependent on drugs and/or alcohol for at least 2 years, who have several problems besides dependence (health, the courts, relationship and psychological problems) and who have been treated for drug problems in at least 3 different services. The following prerequisites are formulated to facilitate the implementation of case management: the development of a manual for case managers [50]; predominance of the interest of the client, involvement of general practitioners [51]; use of standardized forms for the evaluation; involvement of the client's family [44]; development of clear programme descriptions [43].…”