title: How the states stack up: disparities in substance abuse outpatient treatment completion rates for minorities.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study was an exploratory investigation of state-level minority disparities in successfully completing outpatient treatment, a major objective for attending substance abuse treatment and a known process outcome measure.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective analysis of state discharge and admission data from the 2006 to 2008 Treatment Episode Datasets-Discharge (TEDS-D). Data were included representing all discharges from outpatient substance abuse treatment centers across the United States. All first treatment episode clients with admission/discharge records meeting inclusion criteria who could be classified as White, Latino, or Black/African American were used (n=940,058).
  
  
  RESULTS
  States demonstrated racial and ethnic disparities in their crude and adjusted completion rates, which also varied considerably among the states. Minorities typically showed a disadvantage. A few states showed significantly higher completion rates for Blacks or Latinos.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Realistically, a variety of factors likely cause the state race/ethnic differences in successful completion rates. States should investigate their delivery systems to reduce completion disparities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Iowa Consortium for Substance Abuse Research and Evaluation, 100 MTP4, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52245-5000, USA. Electronic address: stephan-arndt@uiowa.edu.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arndt
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Acion
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: White
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D002648:Child; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000208:ethnology; D014482:United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration / Q000639:trends*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Epidemiology; Health policy; Racial disparity; State government; Treatment Episode Datasets–Discharge; Treatment completion