title: Effects of halfway house placement on retention of patients in substance abuse aftercare.
abstract: One hundred twenty-four male veterans were enrolled in the Birmingham VAMC Outpatient Substance Abuse Clinic (OSAC) aftercare program following inpatient treatment for alcohol, cocaine, or mixed alcohol-cocaine abuse/dependence. Forty-two of the patients were concurrently admitted to a nearby halfway house (HH) while the remaining 82 patients made community-based (CB) living arrangements. Chi-square analysis showed the two groups were matched, p > .05, in regard to age, race, marital status, presenting problem, and referral source. The CB group experienced significantly, p < .05, higher early dropout (40 vs 0%) from aftercare. Of the others engaging in treatment, the HH patients stayed in OSAC aftercare 60 days longer and had significantly, p < .01, more clinic visits. A higher proportion, p < .01, of HH patients completed each of four treatment milestones: education group, psychological testing, psychological interview, and treatment planning/update. On average, the HH patients remained in OSAC an additional 90 days after their halfway house discharge. Although not significantly different, p > .05, the frequency of HH patients receiving administrative discharge status of Treatment Complete was twice (28.2%) that of CB patients (15.1%). It is concluded that concurrent halfway house placement can aid in aftercare retention and completion.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000359:Aftercare / Q000523:psychology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D003042:Cocaine; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006208:Halfway Houses; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010352:Patient Dropouts / Q000523:psychology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D003042:Cocaine