Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #102428

Elspeth M. Slayter, MSW, MA¹, Deborah W. Garnick, ScD², and Constance M. Horgan, ScD². (1) The Nathan and Toby Starr Center for Mental Retardation, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, MS 035, Waltham, MA 02454-9110, 617-628-8509, eslayter@brandeis.edu, (2) Schneider Institute for Health Policy, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, 415 South Street, Waltham, MA 02454

People with mental retardation (MR) have experienced increasing levels of freedom and access to community life over the past forty years, including access to alcohol and other drugs (AOD) and the potential for developing related disorders. Although the limited access to AOD treatment for this population is documented, little research is available and this is the first large-scale inquiry into the AOD treatment process for this group. Using a cross-sectional design, research questions about treatment initiation and engagement were examined by analyzing administrative claims for Medicaid beneficiaries of all ages with and without MR. Using performance measures initially developed by the Washington Circle and further adapted by the National Committee on Quality Assurance for inclusion in HEDIS, 599,658 people with AOD claims were identified. Among those with MR, 24.5% initiated treatment and 52.6% engaged in treatment. Among those without MR, 30.3% initiated treatment and 57.4% engaged in treatment. Medicaid, a major source of health coverage for people with MR, also pays for up to 20% of AOD specialty treatment nationwide. Increased levels of initiation and engagement are predictive of staying in treatment for longer periods of time, which is also linked to better recovery outcomes, indicating an area for improvement with service provision to this population. Implications relate to how existing systems provide AOD-related care to this population and areas in which improvements in access to and quality of AOD treatment are needed.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the need for access to AOD treatment for Medicaid beneficiaries with mental retardation
• Describe a new process for conducting AOD treatment surveillance among Medicaid beneficiaries with mental retardation through the use of Medicaid claims data

Keywords: Substance Abuse Treatment, Disability

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.