BackgroundThe continuing gap between the number of people requiring treatment for substance use disorders and those receiving treatment suggests the need to develop new approaches to service delivery. Meanwhile, the use of technology to provide counseling and support in the substance abuse field is exploding. Despite the increase in the use of technology in treatment, little is known about the impact of technology-supported interventions on access to services for substance use disorders. The E-TREAT intervention brings together the evidence-based practice of Motivational Interviewing and theories of Persuasive Technology to sustain clients' motivation to change substance use behaviors, provide support for change, and facilitate continuity across treatment settings.MethodsThis study used descriptive statistics, tests of statistical significance, and logistic regression to explore the characteristics and perceptions of the first 157 people who agreed to participate in E-TREAT and the predictors of their active engagement in E-TREAT services. In addition, responses to open-ended questions about the participants' experiences with the intervention were analyzed.ResultsThe data reveal that clients who engaged in E-TREAT were more likely than those who did not engage to be female, have children and report a positive relationship with their recovery coach, and were less likely to have completed treatment for a substance use disorder in the past. A majority of people engaging in E-TREAT reported that it was helpful to talk with others with similar problems and that the program assisted them in developing a sense of community.ConclusionsThe authors conclude that technology-assisted interventions hold promise in expanding access to treatment for substance use disorders especially for women and parents. Further, the characteristics of the relationship with a coach or helper may be critical to engagement in technology-supported interventions. Additional investigation into ways technology may be useful to enhance treatment access for certain subgroups is needed.

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This study explored the role of social work in natural disasters by examining the relationship between spirituality and the posttraumatic growth of people in a collectivist culture. In this case, a retrospective study was conducted among people in Taiwan who had survived a major earthquake five years earlier. The hypothesis tested was that those who reported higher levels of spirituality would also report higher levels of posttraumatic growth. A concurrent triangulation mixed-methods design was employed for this study. Six hundred and forty participants completed the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). Twenty-eight others participated in semistructured in-depth interviews. Results indicate that, in Taiwan-described here as a collectivist culture-traditional cultural narratives around suffering and adversity, many of which are voiced as spiritual beliefs, have a significant effect on posttraumatic growth. In this situation, social workers need to work with or support spiritual leaders, folk healers, and indigenous religious organizations, as they provide helping services. Respect for cultural differences may require that social workers primarily act as community organizers or developers, not clinicians focusing on coordination and development of material resources.

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Web-based SM offers a feasible approach for older adults with chronic disease to engage in their health management, but it needs to be improved. Those older adults who passed the rigorous screens for this experiment and chose to participate may have been more likely than younger participants to utilize web-based SM intervention tools. They were more persistent in their use of the web-based SM to try to improve health outcomes and formed definitive opinions about its utility before termination.