TY - JOUR
T1 - A randomized study of the use of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for drug and alcohol use with jail inmates
AU - Prendergast, Michael L.
AU - McCollister, Kathryn
AU - Warda, Umme
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse grant R01DA031879. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or of the participating agencies. We are grateful for the willingness of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Homeless Healthcare Los Angeles to participate in the study. At the latter, Mario Gonzalez, Yanira Lopez, Delia Mojarro, and Monica Quezada participated in brief treatment and brief intervention activities. The arrest data and the treatment participation data were provided by the California Department of Justice and the Substance Abuse Prevention and Control division of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, respectively. We acknowledge the contribution of Thomas Beers in preparing the Brief Treatment Manual and in providing training to the health educators. Expert research assistance was provided by Liliana Gregorio, Jason Grossman, Aida Santos, and Kory van Unen. Special appreciation is due to Jerry Cartier, who expertly served as project director until his retirement. Finally, the study could not have occurred without the willing participation of our study subjects.
PY - 2017/3/1
Y1 - 2017/3/1
N2 - Background Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) is an evidence-based practice that has been shown to reduce alcohol and drug use in healthcare, educational, and other settings, but research on the effectiveness of SBIRT with populations involved in the criminal justice system is limited. These populations have high rates of substance use but have limited access to interventions. Methods The study randomized 732 jail inmates from a large urban jail to the SBIRT intervention or to the control group. Using the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), the intervention assessed the risk level for drug and alcohol misuse by inmates and provided those who were at low or medium risk with a brief intervention in jail and referred those at high risk to community treatment following release, including the opportunity to participate in a brief treatment (eight sessions) protocol. Using interview and records data from a 12-month follow-up, analyses compared the two groups with respect to the primary study outcomes of reductions in drug and alcohol use and the secondary outcomes of participation in treatment, rearrest, reduction in HIV risk behaviors, and quality of life. In addition, the costs of delivering the SBIRT intervention were calculated. Results When baseline differences were controlled, the groups did not differ at follow-up on any of the primary or secondary outcomes. Conclusions Future research should develop and evaluate SBIRT models that are specifically adapted to the characteristics and needs of the jail population. Until more favorable results emerge, attempts to use SBIRT with jail inmates should be implemented with caution, if at all. Trial registration number: NCT01683643
AB - Background Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) is an evidence-based practice that has been shown to reduce alcohol and drug use in healthcare, educational, and other settings, but research on the effectiveness of SBIRT with populations involved in the criminal justice system is limited. These populations have high rates of substance use but have limited access to interventions. Methods The study randomized 732 jail inmates from a large urban jail to the SBIRT intervention or to the control group. Using the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), the intervention assessed the risk level for drug and alcohol misuse by inmates and provided those who were at low or medium risk with a brief intervention in jail and referred those at high risk to community treatment following release, including the opportunity to participate in a brief treatment (eight sessions) protocol. Using interview and records data from a 12-month follow-up, analyses compared the two groups with respect to the primary study outcomes of reductions in drug and alcohol use and the secondary outcomes of participation in treatment, rearrest, reduction in HIV risk behaviors, and quality of life. In addition, the costs of delivering the SBIRT intervention were calculated. Results When baseline differences were controlled, the groups did not differ at follow-up on any of the primary or secondary outcomes. Conclusions Future research should develop and evaluate SBIRT models that are specifically adapted to the characteristics and needs of the jail population. Until more favorable results emerge, attempts to use SBIRT with jail inmates should be implemented with caution, if at all. Trial registration number: NCT01683643
KW - Costs
KW - HIV risk behaviors
KW - Jail
KW - Quality of life
KW - Recidivism
KW - Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT)
KW - Substance use
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jsat.2016.12.011
DO - 10.1016/j.jsat.2016.12.011
M3 - Article
C2 - 28132701
AN - SCOPUS:85008386253
VL - 74
SP - 54
EP - 64
JO - Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
JF - Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
SN - 0740-5472
ER -