Browsing by Subject "Community Mental Health Services"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Open Access
Alcohol use disorders and the use of treatment services among college-age young adults.
(Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.), 2007-02) Wu, Li-Tzy; Pilowsky, Daniel J; Schlenger, William E; Hasin, Deborah
OBJECTIVES:This study examined the utilization of and the perceived need for alcohol treatment services among college-age young adults (18-22 years) according to their educational status: full-time college students, part-time college students, noncollege students (currently in school with the highest grade level below college), and nonstudents (N=11,337). This breakdown of young adults had not been addressed previously. METHODS:Secondary analyses were conducted on data from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. RESULTS:Full-time college students (21%) were as likely to have an alcohol use disorder as nonstudents (19%), but were more likely than part-time college students (15%) and noncollege students (12%). Only 4% of full-time college students with an alcohol use disorder received any alcohol services in the past year. Of those with an alcohol use disorder who did not receive treatment services, only 2% of full-time college students, close to 1% of part-time college students, and approximately 3% of young adults who were not in college reported a perceived need for alcohol treatment. Full-time college students were less likely than noncollege students to receive treatment for alcohol use disorders. All young adults with an alcohol use disorder were very unlikely to perceive a need for alcohol treatment or counseling. CONCLUSIONS:College-age adults have a high prevalence of alcohol use disorders, yet they are very unlikely to receive alcohol treatment or early intervention services or to perceive a need for such services. Underutilization of alcohol-related services among college-age young adults deserves greater research attention.
Open Access
Infrequent illicit methadone use among stimulant-using patients in methadone maintenance treatment programs: a national drug abuse treatment clinical trials network study.
(The American journal on addictions, 2008-07) Wu, Li-Tzy; Blazer, Dan G; Stitzer, Maxine L; Patkar, Ashwin A; Blaine, Jack D
We sought to determine the prevalence, patterns, and correlates of past-month illicit methadone use and history of regular illicit use among stimulant-using methadone maintenance treatment patients. We obtained self-reported information on illicit methadone use from 383 participants recruited from six community-based methadone maintenance programs. Overall, 1.6% of participants reported illicit use in the past month, and 4.7% reported a history of regular use. Younger age and history of outpatient psychological treatment were associated with increased odds of past-month illicit use. Illicit methadone use among patients in maintenance programs is infrequent; however, a number of factors may increase risk of illicit use.
Open Access
Use of substance abuse treatment services by persons with mental health and substance use problems.
(Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.), 2003-03) Wu, Li-Tzy; Ringwalt, Christopher L; Williams, Charles E
OBJECTIVES: This study provided population estimates of mental syndromes and substance use problems and examined whether the co-occurrence of mental health and substance use problems was associated with the use of substance abuse treatment services. METHODS: Study data were drawn from the 1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. RESULTS: Of the total sample of 16,661 adults, 2 percent reported using services for alcohol or drug use problems in the previous year. Among the 3,474 (17 percent) who reported at least one alcohol or drug use problem, 6 percent used substance abuse services. Only 4 percent of persons who reported substance use problems alone received any substance abuse treatment service in the previous year. Only 3 percent of persons who reported alcohol use problems alone received such services. Among persons with one or more substance use problems, the prevalence of service use was 11 percent among persons who reported one co-occurring mental syndrome and 18 percent among those who reported two or more mental syndromes. Multiple logistic regression analyses identified a number of subgroups who might have needed substance abuse services but did not receive them, including women, Asians and Pacific Islanders, college graduates, persons employed full-time, persons who abused alcohol only, and persons with substance use problems who reported no coexisting mental syndromes. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of help seeking among persons with alcohol use problems is low, which is a public health concern.
Open Access
Very low dose naltrexone addition in opioid detoxification: a randomized, controlled trial.
(Addiction biology, 2009-04) Mannelli, Paolo; Patkar, Ashwin A; Peindl, Kathi; Gorelick, David A; Wu, Li-Tzy; Gottheil, Edward
Although current treatments for opioid detoxification are not always effective, medical detoxification remains a required step before long-term interventions. The use of opioid antagonist medications to improve detoxification has produced inconsistent results. Very low dose naltrexone (VLNTX) was recently found to reduce opioid tolerance and dependence in animal and clinical studies. We decided to evaluate safety and efficacy of VLNTX adjunct to methadone in reducing withdrawal during detoxification. In a multi-center, double-blind, randomized study at community treatment programs, where most detoxifications are performed, 174 opioid-dependent subjects received NTX 0.125 mg, 0.250 mg or placebo daily for 6 days, together with methadone in tapering doses. VLNTX-treated individuals reported attenuated withdrawal symptoms [F = 7.24 (2,170); P = 0.001] and reduced craving [F = 3.73 (2,107); P = 0.03]. Treatment effects were more pronounced at discharge and were not accompanied by a significantly higher retention rate. There were no group differences in use of adjuvant medications and no treatment-related adverse events. Further studies should explore the use of VLNTX, combined with full and partial opioid agonist medications, in detoxification and long-term treatment of opioid dependence.