Disparities in completion of substance abuse treatment between and within racial and ethnic groups.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate disparities in substance abuse treatment completion between and within racial and ethnic groups in publicly funded treatment in Los Angeles County, California.


METHODS
The Los Angeles County Participant Reporting System with multicross-sectional annual data (2006-2009) for adult participants (n = 16,637) who received treatment from publicly funded programs (n = 276) for the first time.


METHODS
Retrospective analyses of county discharge and admission data. Hierarchical linear regressions models were used to test the hypotheses.


METHODS
Client data were collected during personal interviews at admission and discharge for most participants.


RESULTS
African Americans and Latinos reported lower odds of completing treatment compared with Whites. Within-group analysis revealed significant heterogeneity within racial and ethnic groups, highlighting primary drug problem, days of drug use before admission, and homelessness as significant factors affecting treatment completion. Service factors, such as referral by the criminal justice system, enabled completion among Latinos and Whites only.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings have implications for reducing health disparities among members of racial and ethnic minorities by identifying individual and service factors associated with treatment adherence, particularly for first-time clients.
School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. erickgue@usc.edu
Erick G
EG
Guerrero
Jeanne C
JC
Marsh
Lei
L
Duan
Christine
C
Oh
Brian
B
Perron
Benedict
B
Lee
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D016015:Logistic Models; D015141:Los Angeles / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000628:therapy*; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
Racial/ethnic disparities; outpatient treatment; treatment completion