Improving entry to methadone maintenance among out-of-treatment injection drug users

Randomized Trial of Drug Abuse Treatment-Linkage Strategies.

“…The result extends the work of Booth et al (2003), in which vouchers engaged two-thirds of street-recruited drug users into MMT. The higher rate of treatment-enrollment in the current study may be due to several factors: The participants may have been amenable to change due to medical problems that brought them to the hospital, the MMT program was located at the same institution where they were receiving medical care, and the voucher provided access to 6 months of treatment (compared to the 3-month vouchers used in the Booth et al [2003] study). Further, the voucher participants in the present study indicated less injectionrelated HIV risk and less opiate use through self-report.…”

“…At least five separate studies, each with positive results, had been published by the late 1990s (Sorensen, Masson, & Copeland, 1999). Most recently, Booth, Corsi, and Mikulich (2003) provided a coupon for 90 days of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) to half of a sample of out-of-treatment drug injectors; fully 66% of those who received a coupon for free treatment entered MMT within 2 months, compared with 17% of those who did not receive coupons. All studies using vouchers to link drug users to treatment have used outreach strategies targeting untreated drug users in the community, rather than seeking patients from hospitals.…”

The Effect of a Case Management Intervention on Drug Treatment Entry Among Treatment-Seeking Injection Drug Users With and Without Comorbid Antisocial Personality Disorder

“…This is surprising given that those with ASPD were more psychologically impaired, having a higher prevalence of comorbid MDD and GAD and greater scores on the ASI subscales for psychiatric, drug use, legal and family/social problems. In a similar study examining treatment entry among urban IDUs, Booth et al 2 found that the prevalence of ASPD was three times higher than that of our sample (75 vs 22.8%) and no association was found between ASPD and subsequent treatment entry. Most interesting was that IDUs with comorbid ASPD who received a greater duration of case management were 3.51 times more likely to enter treatment than those receiving less time with their case manager.…”

“…[1][2][3] Injection drug users with ASPD are more likely to participate in needle sharing 1,4 and high risk sexual behaviors 4 associated with transmission of HIV, hepatitis C virus, and hepatitis B virus. Antisocial personality disorder is also associated with increased criminality, 5 anxiety disorders, 6 and a host of other negative psychosocial issues.…”

Social Contextual Factors Associated with Entry into Opiate Agonist Treatment Among Injection Drug Users

“…Variables found to be associated with entry into treatment in this population are being female (17), having health insurance (18,19), recent heroin use (20,21), a lengthy duration of drug use (>10 years) (21), HIV-risk injecting behavior (20,21), a desire for treatment (20,21), and prior treatment experience (17,20,21).…”