The objective of this exploratory study is to develop an understanding of the impact of a multiple agency service delivery environment on women's drug treatment outcomes. This exploratory study has three specific aims: to assess the impact of a multiple agency service delivery environment on women's drug treatment outcomes, to describe the characteristics of women in recovery who receive services simultaneously or sequentially from multiple agencies, and to describe the multiple agency service delivery pattern over a one year period. The main goal of this study is to lay the groundwork for future studies where more specific hypotheses can be tested. The research design is a longitudinal panel design, where services and drug recovery outcomes for women are examined, using both retrospective data and data collected over a 15 month data collection period. The following drug treatment outcomes will be examined: drug-free at end of study, drug recovery days, completion of treatment phases, employment/school, and reunification with biological children. Research will be conducted at a women's residential drug treatment program in Wichita, Kansas. Women who are admitted to the facility for drug treatment during a nine-month window (135) will be invited to participate. Primary data will be collected using structured interviews and Life History Calendars. These data collection instruments will be pilot-tested prior to the study's implementation. The initial structured interview will collect retrospective data on critical incidents occurring in women's lives to that point. Life History Calendars will be used to collect more detailed information on service delivery patterns during the initial three months of treatment and to pinpoint dates of critical events occurring the three months prior to treatment. Secondary data will be collected from the agency's database and case records. Univariate and bivariate statistics will be used to describe characteristics of this population and to examine women's perceptions of the multiple agency service environment. Multivariate data analysis will proceed using event history analysis to examine associations between key variables. Both continuous time and discrete time survival analysis will be used to investigate drug treatment outcomes. As the study is exploratory, differences in outcome cannot be necessarily attributed to treatment differences. Instead, interpretation of findings will suggest directions for subsequent studies.
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