Integrated treatment programs for pregnant and parenting women with problematic substance use: Service descriptions and client perceptions of care

Multi-service prevention programs for pregnant and parenting women with substance use and multiple vulnerabilities: Program structure and clients’ perspectives on wraparound programming

“…Nevertheless, both studies accentuated the importance of such connections in addressing the broad range of physical health and social determinants of health issues experienced by women with problematic substance use. Moreover, in Tarasoff and colleagues' 2018 study [25], clients of integrated treatment programs perceived their care more positively than did clients of standard treatment programs, and a strong theme in clients' comments was their appreciation of program staffs' supportive and non-judgmental approach.…”

“…Similarly, there is a paucity of research on clients' perceptions of their care at these programs. A small literature exists in the context of integrated treatment programs: two studies in one Canadian province identified the most common networks of partnerships amongst integrated treatment programs and described the categories of services that exist as a result [25,26]. In these studies, the most common cross-sectoral networks were between the integrated treatment programs and: substance use or mental health services; child protection services; parenting programming, developmental assessment and childcare; and other social services [26].…”

“…Less common partnerships included key forms of physician-based health care, such as primary care, prenatal care, and opiate agonist therapy, resulting in these services being only periodically available. [25,26] There was considerable variability amongst the integrated treatment programs with respect to provision of services related to housing support, assistance with transportation, and therapeutic childcare, despite these services being perceived as important to achieving positive outcomes [25]. Nevertheless, both studies accentuated the importance of such connections in addressing the broad range of physical health and social determinants of health issues experienced by women with problematic substance use.…”

Community networks of services for pregnant and parenting women with problematic substance use

“…There is no single standard definition or service model for integrated treatment programs for pregnant and parenting women, and no accepted policy or funding standards that dictate a minimum number or type of services or partnerships. In practice, programs that claim to offer integrated treatment contain a heterogeneous mix of services depending on local needs and resources [ 16 ]. There is a lack of research on the implementation and delivery of services within integrated treatment programs [ 17 ], and so we know little about the types of service partnerships that programs develop on the ground as they build community care networks for service provision.…”

“…At a conceptual level, integrated treatment programs are guided by a set of core principles and practices, including: care that is holistic, empowering, and tailored to women’s needs; strong investment in staff and organizational health; innovative and coordinated partnerships; and supportive policies from multiple service sectors [ 18 ]. Specific service complements vary but commonly include specialized substance use services, maternal and child mental health care, pre-natal and primary care, child protection services, parenting programs, child-minding, and supports for social determinants of health (e.g., housing, income supports, transportation assistance) [ 3 , 11 , 16 , 19 ]. Programs typically rely on strong collaborative arrangements for service delivery, sometimes with services co-located under a single roof (i.e., a one-stop shop model), with others relying to a greater or lesser extent on formal and informal partnerships with agencies in their communities (i.e., distributed service model).…”