Asian Americans in community-based substance abuse treatment: service needs, utilization, and outcomes.
The objectives of this study were to examine differences in substance abuse treatment needs, treatment utilization, and outcomes between Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and others. Data were collected from 452 AAPI and a matched sample of 403 non-AAPI who were admitted to 43 drug treatment programs across California. A subset of these participants was assessed at 3 months (n = 112) and 9 months (n = 140) after treatment admission. Differences in pretreatment characteristics, treatment retention and completion, services received, and treatment outcomes were examined. AAPI presented to treatment with lower alcohol and drug severity lower than the comparison group and similar problem severity in other domains. There were no group differences in treatment retention, but AAPI received a greater number of legal services and fewer medical and psychiatric services than the comparison group. AAPI also received fewer total services within their treatment program. Treatment outcomes were similar between the two groups, with one exception: AAPI demonstrated better alcohol outcomes than those in the comparison group.
Niv
Noosha
N
Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA. noosha23@yahoo.com
Wong
Eunice C
EC
Hser
Yih-Ing
YI
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000208:ethnology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D001213:Asian / Q000208:ethnology; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D044468:Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander / Q000208:ethnology; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome