 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Rosalind Brannigan, MPH, Drug Strategies, 1150 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 800, Washingtopn, DC 20036, 202-289-9070, rosbrann@aol.com
While adolescent admissions to substance abuse treatment programs in the United States has increased 53 percent in the last five years, treatment reaches only one in 10 adolescents who need it. Drug Strategies, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared the first-ever comprehensive assessment of adolescent alcohol and drug treatament programs to assist parents, teachers, counselors, judges and policy makers to make better choices about teen treatment. This presentation will identify nine key elements of effective treatment, describe seven promising programs which reflect both geographic diversity and a range of therapeutic approaches and offer current, reliable information on more than 100 programs across the country. Guided by a 22-member Expert Advisory Panel composed of leading academics, clinical researchers, treatment providers and adolescent development experts, Drug Strategies identified program elements that research and practice suggest are critically important to effective adolescent treatment. To explore how these elements are implemented in the real world, we identified exemplary programs by contacting national experts, organizations and state alcohol and drug abuse agency directors; 144 programs were recommended. Each program received an extensive survey instrument requesting specific information and we subsequently conducted structured, taped telephone interviews with all programs. We conducted site visits to seven programs. We found that many recommended programs lack several of the key elements needed to produce successful treatment outcomes and there is much room for improving and expanding teen treatment in the United States.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Adolescent Health,
Related Web page: www.drugstrategies.org
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Drug Strategies, a non profit research institute located in Washington, DC, promotes more effective approaches to the nation's drug problems.
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.