Current Research Efforts
Purpose
The availability of empirically supported clinical practices for the treatment of substance use disorders has increased as research moves from highly-controlled clinical trials to the real world of community treatment settings. The Evidence-Based Practices Substance Abuse (EBP) database and web site is a tool to help treatment providers and policy officials make informed decisions about which evidence-based practices are most appropriate for specific drug problems and individuals.
Criteria for Selection
Practices have published research documenting their effectiveness, and/or are recognized by reputable organizations as evidence-based. Currently, 42 practices are included, most meeting these criteria:
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Research. The practice has been studied in randomized clinical trials, quasi-experimental studies, or in some cases, a less rigorously controlled research design. Research results are published in peer reviewed journals.
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Meaningful outcomes. The practice has resulted in benefits to the individuals receiving the service. It has helped consumers achieve positive outcomes related to treatment goals and objectives.
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Standardization. The practice has been standardized so that it can be replicated. Preference is given to programs which have developed a manual or similar documentation.
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Replication. The intervention has been studied in more than one setting and findings have yielded consistent results.
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Fidelity measure. A fidelity measure either exists or could be developed from available information. Such measures allow practitioners to verify that an intervention is being implemented in a manner consistent with the protocol evaluated in the research.
Search Features
Users can view interventions in a matrix, browse and select by title, or search the database using a variety of descriptors such as population, drug problem, therapy type, and setting. Each entry includes a brief description of the intervention, including implementation issues, references to supporting literature, the availability of instructional manuals and training, developer notes, and other useful information.
Other Features
In addition to the database, the EBP Substance Abuse web site includes abstracts of selected review articles about the effectiveness of evidence-based practices for treating substance abuse, links to web resources for more information, and FAQs (frequently asked questions) about the EBP-Substance Abuse database and related issues.
Target Audience
This database is intended for treatment providers, administrators, and anyone else interested in researching and selecting evidence-based practices for treating substance use disorders.
Future Plans
EBP-Substance Abuse is an expanding resource. As the efficacy and effectiveness of practices are documented, they will be added to the database, and we invite nominations of practices from the treatment and research communities. If salient information about a practice is not included in the database, please let us know. Our goal is to provide a resource that helps treatment providers and policy officials make informed decisions about building effective treatment services.
EBP-Substance Abuse is a project of the University of Washington Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute and the Northwest Frontier Addiction Technology Transfer Center, funded by DBHR.
Contact: adai@u.washington.edu
In collaboration with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the Department of Health, DBHR supports a statewide adolescent health behavior survey through local school districts. Survey data collected every two years is used for local and state prevention program planning.
The Washington State Healthy Youth Survey measures health risk behaviors that contribute to youth injuries, deaths, and social problems. These behaviors include alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, dietary behaviors and physical activity, and related risk and protective factors. Survey data can be used to link behaviors with negative consequences, such as drug use and poor school peformance.
The survey results serve as an important source of needs-assessment data for school districts, community-based organizations, local health and human service agencies, and state agencies. The data are used to monitor the health status of adolescents and track progress on state and federal education and health-related goals. The information from the Healthy Youth Survey may be used to identify trends in patterns of behavior over time. State-level results may also be used to compare national and other state-level results. State and local health and safety agencies use this information to guide policies and programs that serve youth.
Healthy Youth Survey Links:
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Healthy Youth Survey: Survey information and fact sheets.
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AskHYS.net: For help with analyzing and disseminating HYS data. State and county-level HYS behavior data is available to everyone. Access to school-level data may be granted by contacting school districts. The system will suppress any data that has the potential to compromise students' anonymity.
For more information, contact Linda.Becker@dshs.wa.gov
Since 2001, we have conducted an annual survey to ask clients who participate in chemical dependency treatment programs in Washington State their perception of the quality of the services they receive. In addition to compiling a statewide report, DBHR prepares county-level reports and individual, confidential reports for each of the participating treatment agencies. The purpose of these reports is to provide feedback that can be used at the state, county, and provider levels to improve the quality of alcohol and drug treatment services in Washington State.
Click here to view the Patients Speak Out 2009 Patient Satisfaction Survey report.
For more information, contact felix.rodriguez@dshs.wa.gov.
RUaD’s goal is to prevent or reduce the consumption of alcohol by minors, especially through increased enforcement of underage drinking laws.
The RUaD program receives block grant awards from the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). These funds support public education efforts, Liquor Control Board enforcement efforts, workshops at the State Prevention Summit, youth leadership activities, and community-based coalitions.
DBHR also received two discretionary grants to support five communities as they implement comprehensive approaches to reducing underage drinking, with an emphasis on increasing law enforcement activity. Washington Traffic Safety Commission and the Washington State Liquor Control Board are primary partners in RUaD. Other collaborators include: local law enforcement, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the statewide College Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention and other state agencies.
For more information contact linda.becker@dshs.wa.gov
DBHR Research Reports and Archived Reports
DSHS Research and Data Analysis Division (RDA)
DBHR has commissioned a survey every three years since 1991 to monitor changes in the staffing patterns of certified chemical dependency treatment facilities in Washington State. For each year, directors of treatment programs completed the staffing patterns survey. The survey response rate has remained over 90 percent, except for one year when it was 85 percent. DBHR generates a report that combines the results of the latest survey with past surveys. The report presents changes in the staffing patterns of contract and non-contract treatment facilities with respect to race/ethnicity, gender, disability status, and multilingual ability.
Staffing Patterns in Washington State Chemical Dependency Treatment Facilities:
Trends Over a 15-Year Period report.
For more information, contact Felix.Rodriguez@dshs.wa.gov
Washington State’s Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF SIG) will build upon the accomplishments of our 1998 State Incentive Grant by incorporating the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) into our current prevention efforts. This project will provide the resources necessary to enhance existing assessment processes, improve and operationalize our state’s Substance Abuse Prevention Plan, implement and evaluate evidence-based strategies to address critical needs, and establish reporting procedures that track progress toward preventing substance abuse and its related problems.
A State Epidemiological Workgroup (SEW) will assemble and interpret epidemiological data to identify critical prevention issues for the state, while a Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) Advisory Council oversees the project. In order to balance epidemiological perspectives with policy and programming realities, a Joint Operations Team (JOT) will be formed from members of both groups to develop criteria that will guide the identification of state priorities, and facilitate the state-wide needs, resource and readiness assessment, gap analysis, and state prioritization process. Once priorities have been identified, state partners will develop a data-driven Comprehensive Strategic Plan that builds upon the existing Substance Abuse Prevention Plan.
Upon approval of Washington State’s Plan, SPF SIG community funding will provide incentives for a minimum of 15 pilot communities to implement the 5-Step SPF process with evidence-based programs targeting the identified state priorities that manifest in their communities. The project will distribute approximately $135,000 per community annually through a competitive bid process, with a minimum of 20% allocated to Reducing Underage Drinking strategies. The process will balance communities chosen to include those in differing stages of readiness, as well as by geography and rural vs. urban status, with special consideration given to those that represent under-served or high-need populations, particularly where cultural issues are a factor.
INTRODUCTION:
DBHR received a grant award from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment that places Chemical Dependency Professionals (CDPs) in nine separate hospital emergency departments in six different counties. The CDP's screen emergency department patients for substance abuse problems and provide brief intervention or referral to treatment. The evaluation component is designed to monitor the effectiveness of the project in producing measurable patient-level outcomes. It is also designed to assess changes in the system of providing intervention for substance abuse problems. The evaluation is being undertaken by the Department of Social and Health Services Research and Data Analysis Division (RDA) in collaboration with DASA.
PURPOSE:
The evaluation of the WASBIRT Project is designed to monitor how many Emergency Department patients are screened for chemical dependency problems and how many receive brief interventions in the participating hospital emergency departments, how many receive brief treatment on an outpatient basis at certified treatment organizations, and how many receive more extensive forms of chemical dependency treatment.
In addition, the WASBIRT Project is using the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) survey instrument to conduct six-month follow-up interviews with a sample of patients to determine whether or not subsequent drug and alcohol use of patients who receive brief interventions or chemical dependency treatment is reduced. It is also tracking other client-level outcomes including subsequent levels of hospital use, medical costs, social services, drug or alcohol treatment, criminal behavior, employment, and death of patients who are served through WASBIRT. This information will come from existing administrative databases.
The WASBIRT evaluation is also examining the degree to which the project produces intended changes in service delivery systems to improve existing linkages to these services and to expand substance abuse services to include early intervention.
REPORTS:
RDA will produce a series of reports during the course of the project. These reports will be posted on the DASA website as soon as they are available.
