Comparison of pregnancy-specific interventions to a traditional treatment program for cocaine-addicted pregnant women.
Alcohol and drug use in pregnancy is a significant concern. There is a paucity of treatment programs for substance-abusing pregnant women, especially if indigent. Furthermore, treatment retention is compromised when the drug of choice is crack-cocaine. This paper reports the results of a study comparing treatment retention of cocaine-abusing indigent pregnant women before and after incorporating pregnancy-specific interventions. Audits were performed on 603 charts of women enrolled between 1988 and 1994 in either a traditional treatment program (n = 114) or in the Pregnancy Substance Abuse Program (PSAP) (n = 489). Differences in treatment retention were found between the two treatment groups. Drop-out rates from the inpatient component of treatment were significantly lower in the PSAP group than in the control group (11.3% vs. 38.6%, p < .001). There was a higher rate of completion of outpatient treatment in the PSAP compared to the control group (34.4% vs. 13.5%, p < .005). These results were achieved with a 2-day decreased inpatient stay. Treatment retention improved when specialized interventions were provided, at minimal additional cost. These results have implications for other publicly funded treatment programs.
Weisdorf
T
T
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. atkan@netcom.ca
Parran
T V
TV
Graham
A
A
Snyder
C
C
D000359:Aftercare; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003376:Counseling; D016578:Crack Cocaine; D005260:Female; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008485:Medical Audit; D009820:Ohio; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010045:Outpatients; D011203:Poverty; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000628:therapy*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D016578:Crack Cocaine