title: A web-based therapeutic workplace for the treatment of drug addiction and chronic unemployment.
abstract: This article describes a Web-based therapeutic workplace intervention designed to promote heroin and cocaine abstinence and train and employ participants as data entry operators. Patients are paid to participate in training and then to perform data entry jobs in a therapeutic workplace business. Salary is linked to abstinence by requiring patients to provide drug-free urine samples to gain access to the workplace. Prior data show that a prototype of the intervention could promote drug abstinence. Preliminary data on the Web-based intervention suggest that it should be able to teach adults with histories of chronic unemployment and drug addiction to become skilled data entry operators in about 3 to 6 months. Early experience in the business provides preliminary evidence that it might become financially successful. The therapeutic workplace intervention may serve as an effective and practical long-term treatment for chronic unemployment and heroin and cocaine addiction.
authors.affiliation: Center for Learning and Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. ksilverm@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Silverman
authors.forename: Conrad J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Grabinski
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hampton
authors.forename: Christine E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Sylvest
authors.forename: Erin M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Dillon
authors.forename: R Daniel
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Wentland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015142:Baltimore; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003200:Computer User Training / Q000191:economics; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D001330:Electronic Data Processing / Q000191:economics; D016832:Employment, Supported; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008134:Long-Term Care; D009786:Occupational Health Services; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012050:Rehabilitation, Vocational; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted; D014040:Token Economy; D014478:Unemployment / Q000523:psychology*