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Treatment Providers (treatment + provider)
Selected AbstractsRecent life problems and non-fatal overdose among heroin users entering treatmentADDICTION, Issue 2 2005Joanne Neale ABSTRACT Aims To investigate the role of recent life problems in non-fatal overdose among heroin users entering various drug treatment settings. Design Cross-sectional data from a longitudinal study investigating drug treatment effectiveness. Setting Five prison drug treatment services, three residential rehabilitation units, three residential detoxification units and 21 community drug treatment services located in rural, urban and inner-city areas of Scotland. Participants Of a total of 793 primary heroin users commencing drug treatment during 2001,02, 337 (42.5%) were prison drug service clients; 91 (11.5%) were residential rehabilitation clients; 97 (12.2%) were residential detoxification clients; and 268 (33.8%) were community drug treatment clients. Measurements Univariate and stepwise multivariate logistic regression analyses examined associations between overdosing in the 90 days prior to treatment entry and basic demographic characteristics, recent drug use and recent life problems. Findings Ninety-one study participants (11.5%) reported at least one overdose and 19 (2.4%) reported more than one overdose in the 90 days prior to treatment entry. A ,2 test revealed no significant difference in rates of recent overdosing between the four treatment settings (P = 0.650). Recent drug use and recent life problems,but not demographic characteristics,were associated independently with recent overdosing. However, recent life problems were not associated independently with recent overdosing among clients entering prison, clients entering residential rehabilitation or with multiple recent overdosing. Conclusions Associations between recent life problems and recent overdose were evident, but varied by treatment setting. Treatment providers should identify and address heroin users' life problems as part of a broad strategy of overdose prevention. [source] Patients' help-seeking behaviours for health problems associated with methadone and buprenorphine treatmentDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 4 2008ADAM R. WINSTOCK Abstract Introduction and Aims. Clients in opioid substitution therapy often have considerable unmet health-care needs. The current study aimed to explore health problems related to opioid substitution therapy among clients on methadone and buprenorphine treatment. Design and Methods. A self-complete, cross-sectional survey conducted among 508 patients receiving methadone and buprenorphine treatment at community pharmacies in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Results. The most common problems for which participants had ever sought help were dental (29.9%), constipation (25.0%) and headache (24.0%). The most common problems for which participants would currently like help were dental (41.1%), sweating (26.4%) and reduced sexual enjoyment (24.2%). There were no significant differences between those currently on methadone and those currently on buprenorphine for any of the health problems explored, nor differences for gender or treatment duration. Participants on methadone doses 100 mg or above were significantly more likely to want help currently for sedation. Discussion and Conclusions. The considerable unmet health care needs among participants in this study suggest that treatment providers should consider improving the detection and response to common health problems related to opioid substitution therapy. [source] Accidental and deliberate overdose among opiate addicts in methadone maintenance treatment: are deliberate overdoses systematically different?DRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 2 2000Dr. DAVID BEST Abstract The frequency of accidental or deliberate overdose was investigated among 200 opiate addicts in methadone substitution treatment in clinics in Edinburgh and south London. One hundred and three of the participants reported a mean of 3.4 overdoses, with 71 (69%) reporting that their most recent overdose was accidental, 27 (26%) deliberate,the remainder were uncertain. Those whose last overdose was deliberate were more likely to have been prescribed diazepam at that time and were more depressed at the time of interview. Differentiation by self-reported reason for overdose suggests that treatment providers should distinguish between accidental and deliberate overdose in developing overdose prevention strategies. [source] Facilitating involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous during out-patient treatment: a randomized clinical trialADDICTION, Issue 3 2009Kimberly S. Walitzer ABSTRACT Aim This study evaluated two strategies to facilitate involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA),a 12-Step-based directive approach and a motivational enhancement approach,during skills-focused individual treatment. Design Randomized controlled trial with assessments at baseline, end of treatment and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after treatment. Participants, setting and intervention A total of 169 alcoholic out-patients (57 women) assigned randomly to one of three conditions: a directive approach to facilitating AA, a motivational enhancement approach to facilitating AA or treatment as usual, with no special emphasis on AA. Measurements Self-report of AA meeting attendance and involvement, alcohol consumption (percentage of days abstinent, percentage of days heavy drinking) and negative alcohol consequences. Findings Participants exposed to the 12-Step directive condition for facilitating AA involvement reported more AA meeting attendance, more evidence of active involvement in AA and a higher percentage of days abstinent relative to participants in the treatment-as-usual comparison group. Evidence also suggested that the effect of the directive strategy on abstinent days was mediated partially through AA involvement. The motivational enhancement approach to facilitating AA had no effect on outcome measures. Conclusions These results suggest that treatment providers can use a 12-Step-based directive approach to effectively facilitate involvement in AA and thereby improve client outcome. [source] An international survey of training programs for treating tobacco dependenceADDICTION, Issue 2 2009Nancy A. Rigotti ABSTRACT Aims The World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) requires countries to implement tobacco dependence treatment programs. To provide treatment effectively, a country needs trained individuals to deliver these services. We report on the global status of programs that train individuals to provide tobacco dependence treatment. Design Cross-sectional web-based survey of tobacco treatment training programs in a stratified convenience sample of countries chosen to vary by WHO geographic region and World Bank income level. Participants Key informants in 48 countries; 70% of 69 countries who were sent surveys responded. Measurements Program prevalence, frequency, duration and size; background of trainees; content (adherence to pre-defined core competencies); funding sources; challenges. Findings We identified 61 current tobacco treatment training programs in 37 (77%) of 48 countries responding to the survey. Three-quarters of them began in 2000 or later, and 40% began after 2003, when the FCTC was adopted. Programs estimated training 14 194 individuals in 2007. Training was offered to a variety of professionals and paraprofessionals, but most often to physicians and nurses. Median program duration was 16 hours, but programs' duration, intensity and size varied widely. Most programs used evidence-based guidelines and reported adherence to core tobacco treatment competencies. Training programs were less frequent in low-income countries and in Africa. Securing funding was the major challenge for most programs; current funding sources were government (58%), non-government organizations (23%), pharmaceutical companies (17%) and, in one case, the tobacco industry. Conclusion Training programs for tobacco treatment providers are diverse and growing. Most upper- and middle-income countries have programs, and most programs appear to be evidence-based. However, funding is a major challenge. In particular, more programs are needed for non-physicians and for low-income countries. [source] A Pilot Study of an Intervention for Breast Cancer Survivors and Their SpousesFAMILY PROCESS, Issue 1 2004Cleveland G. Shields Ph.D. Recent studies have shown that interventions that increase breast cancer patients' communication with family members lead to reduced patient distress. In this article, we report on a treatment development and pilot study of an intervention for couples coping with breast cancer. In phase 1 of this study, 10 couples participated in two focus groups that generated ideas and themes for the intervention. In phase 2, we developed and pilot tested our intervention with 48 couples: 12 in a 2-session format, 21 in a 1-session format, and 15 in a non-experimental control group. Our response rate shows that breast cancer patients and spouses were willing to participate and that treatment providers were willing to refer patients and their spouses. The 2-session format showed the most promise for producing positive change in mental health functioning and cancer-related stress. [source] Quality of medical care of patients with acne vulgaris in Germany , nationwide survey of pharmacy clientsJOURNAL DER DEUTSCHEN DERMATOLOGISCHEN GESELLSCHAFT, Issue 12 2009Nadine Franzke Summary Background: No empirical "real world" data on the health care of patients with acne vulgaris in Germany currently exist. The objective of this study was to get an informative basis of health care of patients with acne vulgaris in Germany, taking into account both doctor-prescribed medication and self-medication. Patients and Methods: Surveying both medically and self-treated patients, n = 504 patients with acne vulgaris were interviewed in 48 pharmacies nationwide. In addition to socio-demographic data, the duration of illness, localization and therapy as well as patient-relevant outcomes such as patient benefit, psychological strain and markers of compliance were evaluated. The participation and significance of individual treatment providers were also evaluated. Results: A large percentage of the patients found acne vulgaris to be burdensome. Despite the longstanding necessity of treatment and the chronic course of the illness, the treatment of acne vulgaris was deemed a rather satisfactory experience by most of those affected. Dermatologists were most frequently consulted for treatment. A great number of medicinal products were further acquired through self-medication or after consulting with a pharmacist. The medically regulated therapies predominantly complied with the latest guidelines. Conclusions: Acne vulgaris is a burdensome, socio-economically relevant illness, and dermatologists treat most cases in Germany. Surveying across a network of pharmacies offers a unique access to relevant treatment data. Selection effects, particularly by choice of doctors and self-medication, were minimized. [source] The Relationships of the Level of Response to Alcohol and Additional Characteristics to Alcohol Use Disorders Across Adulthood: A Discrete-Time Survival AnalysisALCOHOLISM, Issue 9 2009Ryan S. Trim Background:, A low level of response (LR) to alcohol has been shown to relate to a higher risk for alcohol use disorders (AUDs). However, no previous research has examined the association between LR and the development of AUDs in the context of additional robust risk factors for AUDs. This study evaluated whether LR and other related characteristics predicted the occurrence of AUDs across adulthood using discrete-time survival analysis (DTSA). Methods:, A total of 297 probands from the San Diego Prospective Study reported on the LR to alcohol, a family history (FH) of AUDs, the typical drinking quantity, the age of drinking onset, the body mass index and the age at the baseline (T1) assessment. Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) were evaluated at the 10-year (T10), T15, T20, and T25 follow-ups. Results:, A low LR to alcohol predicted AUD occurrence over the course of adulthood even after controlling for the effects of other robust risk factors. Interaction effects revealed that the impact of FH on AUDs was only observed for subjects with high T1 drinking levels, and probands with high T1 drinking were at high risk for AUDs regardless of their age of onset. Conclusions:, The findings illustrate that LR is a unique risk factor for AUDs across adulthood, and not simply a reflection of a broader range of risk factors. The continued investigation of how LR is related to AUD onset later in life will help inform treatment providers about this high-risk population, and future longitudinal evaluations will utilize DTSA to assess rates of AUD remission as well as the onset of drinking outcomes in adolescent samples. [source] Reclaiming Futures: A Model for Judicial Leadership in Community Responses to Juvenile Substance AbuseJUVENILE AND FAMILY COURT JOURNAL, Issue 3 2006JUDGE MICHAEL ANDEREGG ABSTRACT Juvenile courts across the country have become the leading service delivery system for youths with substance abuse problems, not by choice, but by necessity. At 10 communities around the nation, judges and project staff are in their fifth year of pioneering changes to the way the juvenile justice system helps teens in trouble with drugs, alcohol, and crime. These judges are part of Reclaiming Futures, an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and they are working with local leaders to re-invent the way law enforcement, courts, probation, detention facilities, treatment providers, families, schools, and the community work together to help troubled youths succeed. Together, they have written a guide for judges, court administrators, government entities, community leaders, and interested citizens to share the knowledge and experience they have gained from the nationwide Reclaiming Futures initiative. Their goal is to encourage and motivate others to launch similar projects in their communities, and to provide a blueprint for judges and others striving to undertake this level of collaboration. [source] Lives in Isolation: Stories and Struggles of Low-income African American Women with Panic DisorderCNS: NEUROSCIENCE AND THERAPEUTICS, Issue 3 2009Michael Johnson Research evidence points to the existence of racial-ethnic disparities in both access to and quality of mental health services for African Americans with panic disorder. Current panic disorder evaluation and treatment paradigms are not responsive to the needs of many African Americans. The primary individual, social, and health-care system factors that limit African Americans' access to care and response to treatment are not well understood. Low-income African American women with panic disorder participated in a series of focus-group sessions designed to elicit (1) their perspectives regarding access and treatment barriers and (2) their recommendations for designing a culturally consistent panic treatment program. Fear of confiding to others about panic symptoms, fear of social stigma, and lack of information about panic disorder were major individual barriers. Within their social networks, stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illness and the mentally ill, discouragement about the use of psychiatric medication, and perceptions that symptoms were the result of personal or spiritual weakness had all interfered with the participants' treatment seeking efforts and contributed to a common experience of severe social isolation. None of the focus-group members had developed fully effective therapeutic relationships with either medical or mental health providers. They described an unmet need for more interactive and culturally authentic relationships with treatment providers. Although the focus-group sessions were not intended to be therapeutic, the women reported that participation in the meetings had been an emotionally powerful and beneficial experience. They expressed a strong preference for the utilization of female-only, panic disorder peer-support groups as an initial step in the treatment/recovery process. Peer-support groups for low-income African American women with panic disorder could address many of the identified access and treatment barriers. [source] |