Two interventions designed to increase the likelihood of entry into long-term treatment upon discharge from hospital detoxification are compared in a randomized controlled trial. The 279 study participants were treated for heroin and/or cocaine dependence on detoxification wards in two hospitals in a poor, predominantly Hispanic, neighborhood in New York City. One-third of the participants entered and remained in long-term treatment for the first 30 days after discharge from detoxification, 23% were in treatment for 1-29 days, and 43% received no treatment in the 30 days. Neither of the interventions--one, a brief motivational psychotherapy, the other, a series of treatment-related videos--is found to be significantly superior to treatment as usual in increasing the likelihood of utilization of long-term treatment. While weaknesses in the interventions themselves need to be examined, it is also concluded that conditions on the detoxification wards may hamper effective intervention.
Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Inc.