Women's programs versus mixed-gender day treatment: Results from a randomized study

Aims: To compare outcomes and costs of out-patient women's treatment to mixed-gender programs. Design: Randomized clinical trial. Setting: Northern California (USA). Intervention: Day treatment: one community-based women's program, two mixed-gender community-based programs and one mixed-gender hospital-based program. Participants: Substance-dependent women recruited from the community (n = 122). Measurements Women were interviewed at baseline, at the end of treatment (94% response rate) and at 6 and 12 months post-treatment (100% response rates). Measures included alcohol and drug use, and psychiatric and social problems. Program costs were estimated using the Drug Abuse Treatment Cost Analysis Program. Findings: No significant differences between the women's program and any of the mixed-gender programs were found for psychiatric problem severity, problems with family and friends or rates of drug use at any of the follow-up points. Rates of alcohol abstinence and total abstinence were similar between the women's program and both of the mixed-gender community programs, but were higher at the mixed-gender hospital program. Only one of these results was replicated in the multivariate analysis, with the odds of total abstinence significantly lower for those randomized to the women's program than the mixed-gender hospital program. However, the average cost of a treatment episode was significantly higher at the hospital program than at the women's program ($1212 versus $543). Conclusions: These findings suggest that female substance abusers may be treated as effectively in mixed-gender programs as in women's programs.