How to have a high success rate in treatment: advice for evaluators of alcoholism programs.
Two seasoned alcohol treatment researchers offer tongue-in-cheek advice to novice program evaluators faced with increasing pressure to show high success rates. Based on published examples, they advise: (1) choose only good prognosis cases to evaluate; (2) keep follow-up periods as short as possible; (3) avoid control and comparison groups; (4) choose measures carefully; (5) focus only on alcohol outcomes; (6) use liberal definitions of success; (7) rely solely upon self-report and (8) always declare victory regardless of findings.
Miller
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Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque 87131-1161, USA.
Sanchez-Craig
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M
D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011379:Prognosis; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014925:Wit and Humor as Topic