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

Abstract #105618

Jeffrey R.W. Knudsen, MA¹, Steven L. Gallon, PhD², and Roy M. Gabriel, PhD¹. (1) RMC Research Corporation, 522 S.W. Fifth Avenue, Suite 1407, Portland, OR 97204, 503-223-8248, jknudsen@rmccorp.com, (2) Oregon Health and Sciences University, Dept. of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Northwest Frontier Addiction Technology Transfer Center, 810 D Street NE, Salem, OR 97301

This study, conducted in the context of a Pacific Northwest needs assessment, examined the diverse academic and professional background characteristics of substance abuse treatment counselors, relating these characteristics to the work counselors are doing. Data was collected via a workforce needs assessment survey. The final sample was comprised of 450 substance abuse counselors from 159 treatment agencies across the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. Results indicate that while academic and professional background characteristics differentiate whether counselors perform certain clinical tasks or not, they do not differentiate the amount of time they spend doing them. In fact, regression analyses indicate that academic and professional background characteristics currently account for less than 10% of the total variability associated with how counselors spend their time. While meager, the best predictors of individual work tasks appear to be more contextual in nature. The fact that academic and professional background characteristics did not differentiate counselors in terms of time spent on specific clinical responsibilities raises some questions regarding the quality of client care. Results also indicate that the knowledge and skill sets needed for counselors to be effective may vary according to the treatment setting.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will better understand how diverse the substance abuse workforce is in terms of academic and professional background characteristics.
• Participants will better understand what the provision of treatment currently looks like at agencies by examining reports of time spent on various clinical tasks (group counseling, clinical supervision, case management, paperwork, etc).
• Participants will examine how counselor background characteristics (including certification status, degree status, and years experience) do not differentiate the time spent on particular clinical tasks. This finding will be discussed in the context of recent discussions regarding uniform certification standards and minimum degree status qualifications.

Keywords: Substance Abuse Treatment, Workforce

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.