A comparison of three interventions on pretreatment dropout rates in an outpatient substance abuse clinic

Studies examining pretreatment dropout in outpatient substance abuse clinics have consistently demonstrated that fewer days between phone contact and scheduled intake appointment result in higher client show rates. To compare time to intake with two other interventions hypothesized to increase show...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Addictive behaviors 1999-07, Vol.24 (4), p.579-582
Main Authors: STASIEWICZ, P. R, STALKER, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Alcoholism - psychology
Alcoholism - therapy
Ambulatory Care
Analysis of Variance
Appointments and Schedules
Biological and medical sciences
Clinics
Compliance
Desintoxication. Drug withdrawal
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Patient Dropouts - statistics & numerical data
Postal Service
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Reminder Systems
Substance abuse treatment
Substance Abuse Treatment Centers - statistics & numerical data
Telephone
Treatments
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Studies examining pretreatment dropout in outpatient substance abuse clinics have consistently demonstrated that fewer days between phone contact and scheduled intake appointment result in higher client show rates. To compare time to intake with two other interventions hypothesized to increase show rates, individuals (N = 128) seeking treatment were randomly assigned to one of four groups. Individuals in Group 1 were scheduled within 48 hours of the telephone intake. Individuals in Groups 2, 3, and 4 were scheduled 48 hours or more after the telephone intake and received either a reminder call 24 hours prior to their appointment (Group 2), an appointment card and clinic brochure in the mail (Group 3), or no intervention (Group 4). The results show that Group 1 had a higher show rate as compared to the other three groups, and receiving a reminder call or an appointment card did not improve show rates beyond that of the no-contact control group. Implications for intake procedures are discussed.
ISSN:0306-4603
1873-6327
DOI:10.1016/S0306-4603(98)00082-3