Protecting patients and staff in residential treatment centers during exposure to COVID-19: commentary.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has created a crisis in access to addiction treatment. Programs with residential components have been particularly impacted as they try to keep infection from spreading in facilities and contributing to further community spread of the virus. This crisis highlights the ongoing daily trade-offs that organizations must weigh as they balance the risks and benefits of individual patients with those of the group of patients, staff and the community they serve. MAIN BODY: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced provider organizations to make individual facility level decisions about how to manage patients who are COVID-19 positive while protecting other patients, staff and the community. While guidance documents from federal, state, and trade groups aimed to support such decision making, they often lagged pandemic dynamics, and provided too little detail to translate into front line decision making. In the context of incomplete knowledge to make informed decisions, we present a way to integrate guidelines and local data into the decision process and discuss the ethical dilemmas faced by provider organizations in preventing infections and responding to COVID positive patients or staff. CONCLUSION AND COMMENTARY: Provider organizations need decision support on managing the risk of COVID-19 positive patients in their milieu. While useful, guidance documents may not be capable of providing support with the nuance that local data and simulation modeling may be able to provide.

Worker and perceived team climate factors influence the use of restraint and seclusion in youth residential treatment centers: Results from a mixed-method longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Restraint and seclusion (R&S) are controversial methods of intervention aimed at protecting children from immediate harm in residential treatment centers (RTC). Previous studies have mainly focused on situational factors and youth characteristics to predict its use. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to evaluate the role other potential predictors could play in the decision to use R&S, namely characteristics of residential workers and their perceived team climate. METHODS: For two months, a total of 132 residential workers from different RTC in the greater Montreal area completed weekly diaries of standardized questionnaires. Using an explanatory sequential design (i.e., mixed methods), this study aimed at exploring the role of residential workers' characteristics (e.g., exposure to client aggression, stress and fatigue) and aspects of their perceived team climate (e.g., order and organization, communication and openness) as predictors of R&S use. Survey results were later also presented to four focus groups for discussion. RESULTS: Results indicated that exposure to verbal violence from youths was associated with the increased use of R&S. Meanwhile, perceived communication and openness were associated with lower rates of R&S use. Participants shared that repeated exposure to verbal violence diminished their level of tolerance while teamwork provided them with the emotional space needed to focus on the needs of youths and find alternatives to R&S. CONCLUSION: This study sheds light on the complex role of human emotions in the decision to use of R&S. Specifically, intense momentary emotions during crisis interventions had a greater influence on the use R&S than chronic states, such as fatigue.

[Visions of recovery in residential mental health services in a region of Quebec]. / Les visions du rétablissement dans des services résidentiels en santé mentale d'une région québécoise.

Objective Following a reorganization in the housing sector of mental health services in a region of Quebec, this descriptive study assessed the perceived integration of recovery principles according to service users (n=25), managers of residential facilities (n=19) and social and health care professionals (n=30). Method All participants completed the Recovery Self-Assessment. Service users also filled the Satisfaction with Life Domains Scale. Additional qualitative questions were asked in a written format. Results Most service users were satisfied overall with their current residence but noted that intervention options and addressing sexual needs could be improved. Clinicians perceived significantly less integration of the various dimensions of recovery than the two other groups (p < 0.001). All groups identified that persons with mental illness should be more involved in service planning in residences. Conclusion Integrating the perspectives of different key stakeholders highlighted the need to continue to work collaboratively to support a recovery process in housing facilities and involve more service users.

Implementation Patterns of Two Evidence-Based Psychotherapies in Veterans Affairs Residential Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Programs: A Five-Point Longitudinal National Investigation.

The present study examined the patterns of adoption of two evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs)-prolonged exposure (PE) and cognitive processing therapy (CPT)-in U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) residential posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment programs. A total of 526 providers from 39 programs nationwide completed online quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews, collected at five assessment points between 2008 and 2015, concerning the use of PE and CPT. By the midpoint of the study period, responders from most programs reported having adopted one or both EBPs as either core components of their programs or "tracks" for certain patients within their programs, adoption rates were 52.8% of programs at Time 3, 61.0% at Time 4, and 66.7% at Time 5. Evaluation of adoption patterns over time suggested that CPT was used in more programs and with more patients within programs compared to PE. At Time 5, respondents from half of the programs reported little or no adoption of PE, whereas the CPT adoption rate was reported to be "little or none" for one-fifth of the programs. The adoption of PE was generally slower compared to CPT adoption. The slower rate of adoption may be related to the resource-intensive nature of implementing PE on an individual basis in a residential setting as compared to the multiple ways CPT can be delivered: individually or in group settings, and with or without the inclusion of the trauma narrative. Strategies to improve sustainability measurement and implications for implementation science are discussed.

From Treatment to Containment to Enterprise: An Ethno-history of Therapeutic Communities in Puerto Rico, 1961-1993.

Unpaid work is now a central therapy in Puerto Rican therapeutic communities, where substance users reside and seek to rehabilitate each other, often for years at a time. Once a leading treatment for addiction in mainland United States, therapeutic communities were scaled back in the 1970s after they lost federal endorsement. They continue to flourish in Puerto Rico for reasons that have less to do with their curative powers than with their malleability as multi-purpose social enterprises and their historical co-option by state, market and family actors who have deployed them for a variety of purposes. Their endurance from the 1960s to the neoliberal present obliges us to recognize their capacities as what Mizruchi calls abeyance mechanisms whereby 'surplus' populations, otherwise excluded from labor and home, are absorbed into substitute livelihoods. Having initially emerged as a low-cost treatment, in a context of mass unemployment and prison-overcrowding they now thrive as institutions of containment and informal enterprise.

Retrospective study of a first-episode psychosis service embedded within a home-based treatment team.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate if having an early intervention service (EIS), which is embedded within a home-based treatment team (HBTT), is associated with (1) shorter duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), (2) lower rates of hospital admissions at first presentation, (3) a lesser number of hospital admissions within 6 months of presentation and (4) a reduced mean bed usage for the first 6 months. METHODS: The files of those who presented with a first-episode psychosis (FEP) to the South Lee Mental Health Service from January 2016 to February 2017 were identified and a retrospective case review was carried out. The demographics, clinical characteristics and hospital admissions were compared for those admitted to either the EIS or community mental health teams. RESULTS: Forty patients were assessed. DUP was found to be longer for those who presented to the EIS (U = 121, p = 0.03). There were fewer admissions at first presentation (χ2 (1) = 6.51 p = 0.01), fewer admissions within the first 6 months of presentation (χ2 (1) = 5.56 p = 0.02) and less bed usage overall (U = 131, p = 0.047) for those who presented to the EIS. CONCLUSION: The study provides a baseline clinical and demographic profile of patients with FEP in an Irish mental health service and demonstrates current pathways to care. EIS embedded within an HBTT was associated with fewer hospital admissions and less bed usage. It is unclear whether these findings may have occurred due to the EIS or due to the benefits provided by an HBTT.

Intensive oversight of youth residential treatment: Staff perspectives on the New York State Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs.

Youth care workers in U.S. residential treatment centers (RTCs) provide 24-h care to youth whose significant psychosocial needs cannot be managed in a less restrictive setting. They have sometimes abused or neglected youth in their care. This study investigates staff perspectives on a new form of intensive oversight developed in New York State to prevent maltreatment of youth in care facilities. It asks: How does intensive oversight and investigation mandated by a state-run agency for the protection of people in care affect residential youth care workers in RTCs? Derived from a 15-month ethnographic study of an RTC serving a child welfare population conducted in 2015 and 2016, these results suggest that intensive oversight may have unanticipated consequences for RTCs, the youth care workforce, and youth in care. Consistent with other studies of regulation and surveillance in risk societies, participants reported that fear of prolonged and intimidating investigations, false allegations, and unavoidable violations of policy negatively affected their practice and contributed to staff turnover. Organizational consequences included serious staffing challenges and increased costs of overtime and administrative management of compliance. Some participants suggested that the form of intensive oversight studied here may have reduced the quality of care received by youth by disrupting therapeutic relationships, causing youth to be cared for by unfamiliar workers, and compelling workers to act defensively to prevent allegations rather than in the best interest of youth. We suggest that, under conditions of intensive oversight, youth care workers, like their clients, should be considered an at risk population whose well being is essential for the provision of high quality care. We conclude with modest recommendations to organizations and jurisdictions using or considering intensive oversight practices to protect the rights and safety of youth in RTCs.

Frequency and Predictors of Alcohol-Related Outcomes Following Alcohol Residential Rehabilitation Programs: A 12-Month Follow-Up Study.

Excessive use of alcohol has been identified as a major risk factor for diseases, injury conditions and increased mortality. The aims of this study were to estimate the frequency of success (abstinence and no alcohol related hospitalization) at 6- and 12-month follow-up after hospital discharge, and to identify the predictors of success. In 2009, a total of 1040 patients at their first admission in one of the 12 Residential Alcohol Abuse Rehabilitation Units (RAARUs) participating in the CORRAL (COordinamento of Residenzialità Riabilitative ALcologiche) project were included in the study. Several socio-demographic and clinical variables, and the number of treatments' strategies during the rehabilitation were collected. Information on alcohol abstinence and no alcohol related hospitalization was assessed through a phone interview using a health worker-administered structured questionnaire at six and 12 months after discharge. An inverse probability weighted, repeated measures Poisson regression model with robust variance was applied to estimate the association between patients' characteristics and the study's outcomes, accounting for non-responders status. The frequencies of abstinence and non-alcohol related hospitalization were 68.38% and 90.73% at six months, respectively, and 68.65% and 87.6% at 12 months, respectively. Patients that were already abstainers in the month before RAARUs' admission have an increased probability of being abstainers after discharge (relative risk: RR 1.20, 95% confidence interval: 95%CI 1.08⁻1.33) and of having an alcohol related hospitalization at 12 months. Subjects undergoing more than four treatment strategies (RR 1.19; 95% CI 1.01⁻1.40) had a higher abstinence probability and lower probability of no alcohol related hospitalizations after 12 months. Finally, patients with dual diagnosis (co-occurrence of alcohol abuse/dependence and psychiatric disorders) have a decreased probability of not being hospitalized for alcohol-related problems (RR 0.95; 95% CI 0.91⁻0.99). The results of this study suggest that specific attention should be paid to the intensity of treatment, with particular regard to a multidisciplinary rehabilitation in order to respond to the complexity of alcohol dependent patients.

Changes in Residential Substance Use Treatment Service Access Resulting From Recent Medicaid Section 1115 Waivers.

Medicaid stands to play a significant role in addressing the needs of individuals with a substance use disorder; however, many state Medicaid programs do not cover a full continuum of care. A growing number of states are taking advantage of Section 1115 demonstration waivers to augment their covered benefits, including experimenting with financing residential treatment services that previously were not eligible for reimbursement. Concerns over potential overuse of these services or increased spending due to this service expansion may be tempered by complementary delivery system transformation focused on reining in costs and improving care quality.

A model for the provision of integrated perinatal and infant mental health services in regional settings.

OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to describe current approaches in Victoria to the development of perinatal and infant mental health services in regional areas. METHOD: The paper outlines the significance of perinatal mental disorder for maternal wellbeing and impact on infant development, and describes the model of care at the Agnes Unit. RESULTS: The Agnes Unit has been established as a residential therapeutic unit offering short-term treatment that focusses on promoting parental mental health, parenting sensitivity and the parent-infant relationship. CONCLUSIONS: A coordinated and integrated approach with focus on early intervention is needed to deliver perinatal and infant mental health services. Services need to focus on the infant and parent-infant relationship in addition to parental mental health.

Smoking outcome expectancies predict smoking during voucher-based treatment for smokers with substance use disorders.

OBJECTIVE: Strong expectations regarding positive effects of smoking may reduce the likelihood of successfully quitting. The Smoking Effects Questionnaire (SEQ) assesses the importance of seven expected positive and negative effects of smoking. SEQ was used to predict responses to contingent monetary rewards for smoking abstinence among smokers with substance use disorders (SUD). METHODS: Smokers (N = 184) in residential (i.e., 24 h/day) treatment for SUD received 19 consecutive days of either contingent vouchers (CV) for smoking abstinence (twice-daily carbon monoxide [CO] readings) or non-contingent vouchers (NV) plus counseling to motivate smoking cessation. Analyses investigated effects of smoking expectancies on days of smoking within-treatment and number of cigarettes/day at 1 month post-treatment. RESULTS: Higher positive expectancies for reduced negative affect, weight control, stimulation and positive social effects from smoking were related to more days of smoking during treatment only for participants in the CV condition. Post-treatment, expecting positive social and stimulating effects from smoking were related to more smoking only among CV participants. In both conditions, negative expectancies were largely unrelated to smoking outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The moderation of CV by positive smoking expectancies suggests that those who rate positive expectancies as more important may require a complementary treatment or different incentives to reduce smoking. The SEQ was probably unassociated with smoking in NV due to little reduction in smoking behavior. Helping smokers with SUD develop alternative ways to produce positive effects sought from smoking may be important to improve initial smoking outcomes.

Investigating the usefulness of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy in adolescent residential care.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the usefulness of the trauma intervention, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), for adolescents in residential treatment. METHOD: The study employed a secondary analysis of 132 adolescent trauma cases collected from youth while in a residential treatment facility in Mississippi. RESULTS: Analysis indicated that clients showed significant decreases in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity scores after receiving TF-CBT in residential care. PTSD severity scores were significantly higher for the residential care sample as compared to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network's average baseline score. Females reported significantly higher PTSD and substance use scores than males. PTSD baseline scores, substance use scores, and gender contributed significantly to the prediction of PTSD outcomes post intervention. CONCLUSION: Implications, based on study findings, to enhance services for traumatized youth in residential care were explored and discussed.

Implementation of Dialectical Behavior Therapy in Residential Treatment Programs: A Process Evaluation Model for a Community-Based Agency.

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) can be challenging to implement in community-based settings. Little guidance is available on models to evaluate the effectiveness or sustainability of training and implementation efforts. Residential programs have much to gain from introduction of evidence-based practices, but present their own challenges in implementation. This paper presents a low-cost process evaluation model to assess DBT training piloted in residential programs. The model targets staff and organizational factors associated with successful implementation of evidence-based practices and matches data collection to the four stages of the DBT training model. The strengths and limitations of the evaluation model are discussed.

Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for Urban American Indians and Alaska Natives, Part I: Services and Staff.

Although residential substance abuse treatment is utilized extensively by urban American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), there are few detailed descriptions of this care. This study delineated services provided by and interviewed staff working at residential programs designed for chemically dependent urban AI/ANs. Study agencies were compared to national data from residential programs serving general population clients. Study agencies delivered arrays of services substantially broader than those provided by general population programs. As well as culturally specific programs tailored for AI/ANs plus so-called "mainstream" substance abuse treatments, study facilities provided numerous ancillary services, such as care for clients' children.

Barriers to and facilitators of pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorder in VA residential treatment programs.

Among US military veterans, alcohol use disorder (AUD) is prevalent and in severe cases patients need intensive AUD treatment beyond outpatient care. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) delivers intensive, highly structured addiction and psychosocial treatment through residential programs. Despite the evidence supporting pharmacotherapy among the effective treatments for AUD, receipt of these medications (e.g., naltrexone, acamprosate) among patients in residential treatment programs varies widely. In order to better understand this variation, the current study examined barriers and facilitators to use of pharmacotherapy for AUD among patients in VA residential treatment programs. Semi-structured qualitative interviews with residential program management and staff were conducted and the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research was used to guide coding and analysis of interview transcripts. Barriers to use of pharmacotherapy for AUD included cultural norms or philosophy against prescribing, lack of access to willing prescribers, lack of interest from leadership, and perceived lack of patient interest or need. Facilitators included cultural norms of openness or active promotion of pharmacotherapy; education for patients, program staff and prescribers; having prescribers on staff, and care coordination within residential treatment and with other clinic settings in and outside VA. Developing and testing improvement strategies to increase care coordination and consistent support from leadership may also yield increases in the use of pharmacotherapy for AUD among residential patients.

Tensions between approach paradigms in public policies on drugs: an analysis of Brazilian legislation in 2000-2016. / Tensões paradigmáticas nas políticas públicas sobre drogas: análise da legislação brasileira no período de 2000 a 2016.

Brazilian public policy on drugs has been permeated by two diametrically opposing approaches: one focusing on prohibition and the other on non- prohibition. Similarly, there have been two opposing approaches to mental healthcare, one centered on hospitalization and the other psychosocial care and development. In the context of these different paradigms, this article presents an analysis of twenty-two documents sourced by the legislative rules over the last sixteen years. After the year 2000, a renewed focus by healthcare community on drugs was noticeable as was the immersion of a harm reducing approach. Following international trends, although there are still considerable divergencies between (a) psychosocial care and(b) residential care in the therapeutic communities there seems to be an alignment to anti- prohibition approaches.

Tensões paradigmáticas nas políticas públicas sobre drogas: análise da legislação brasileira no período de 2000 a 2016 / Tensions between approach paradigms in public policies on drugs: an analysis of Brazilian legislation in 2000-2016

Resumo Tensões em diferentes campos perpassam a formulação de políticas públicas sobre drogas. Na Justiça/Segurança pública, controvérsias entre os paradigmas do proibicionismo e antiproibicionismo; no campo da Saúde/Assistência social, os paradigmas asilar e psicossocial norteiam, de forma divergente, práticas em saúde mental/álcool e outras drogas. O objetivo do artigo é analisar, à luz destes paradigmas, modelos que influenciaram as Políticas Públicas sobre Drogas no Executivo Federal brasileiro. Trata-se de pesquisa documental, cuja fonte são normativos publicados entre 2000-2016 e categorias analíticas: os modelos hegemônicos, as influências na organização dos serviços e a intersetorialidade. Foram analisados 22 documentos. Concluiu-se que, na saúde, a abordagem às drogas apresentou incremento e relevância a partir dos anos 2000, a redução de danos emergiu como estratégia norteadora do cuidado, um paradigma ético, clínico e político, transversal no diálogo com os campos. Identificou-se protagonismo promissor de outros setores, alinhados às novas tendências internacionais e ao antiproibicionismo, mas persistem divergências quanto ao modelo de atenção psicossocial e internação em comunidades terapêuticas.

Abstract Brazilian public policy on drugs has been permeated by two diametrically opposing approaches: one focusing on prohibition and the other on non- prohibition. Similarly, there have been two opposing approaches to mental healthcare, one centered on hospitalization and the other psychosocial care and development. In the context of these different paradigms, this article presents an analysis of twenty-two documents sourced by the legislative rules over the last sixteen years. After the year 2000, a renewed focus by healthcare community on drugs was noticeable as was the immersion of a harm reducing approach. Following international trends, although there are still considerable divergencies between (a) psychosocial care and(b) residential care in the therapeutic communities there seems to be an alignment to anti- prohibition approaches.

VA residential substance use disorder treatment program providers' perceptions of facilitators and barriers to performance on pre-admission processes.

BACKGROUND: In the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), residential treatment programs are an important part of the continuum of care for patients with a substance use disorder (SUD). However, a limited number of program-specific measures to identify quality gaps in SUD residential programs exist. This study aimed to: (1) Develop metrics for two pre-admission processes: Wait Time and Engagement While Waiting, and (2) Interview program management and staff about program structures and processes that may contribute to performance on these metrics. The first aim sought to supplement the VA's existing facility-level performance metrics with SUD program-level metrics in order to identify high-value targets for quality improvement. The second aim recognized that not all key processes are reflected in the administrative data, and even when they are, new insight may be gained from viewing these data in the context of day-to-day clinical practice. METHODS: VA administrative data from fiscal year 2012 were used to calculate pre-admission metrics for 97 programs (63 SUD Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs (SUD RRTPs); 34 Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs (MH RRTPs) with a SUD track). Interviews were then conducted with management and front-line staff to learn what factors may have contributed to high or low performance, relative to the national average for their program type. We hypothesized that speaking directly to residential program staff may reveal innovative practices, areas for improvement, and factors that may explain system-wide variability in performance. RESULTS: Average wait time for admission was 16 days (SUD RRTPs: 17 days; MH RRTPs with a SUD track: 11 days), with 60% of Veterans waiting longer than 7 days. For these Veterans, engagement while waiting occurred in an average of 54% of the waiting weeks (range 3-100% across programs). Fifty-nine interviews representing 44 programs revealed factors perceived to potentially impact performance in these domains. Efficient screening processes, effective patient flow, and available beds were perceived to facilitate shorter wait times, while lack of beds, poor staffing levels, and lengths of stay of existing patients were thought to lengthen wait times. Accessible outpatient services, strong patient outreach, and strong encouragement of pre-admission outpatient treatment emerged as facilitators of engagement while waiting; poor staffing levels, socioeconomic barriers, and low patient motivation were viewed as barriers. CONCLUSIONS: Metrics for pre-admission processes can be helpful for monitoring residential SUD treatment programs. Interviewing program management and staff about drivers of performance metrics can play a complementary role by identifying innovative and other strong practices, as well as high-value targets for quality improvement. Key facilitators of high-performing facilities may offer programs with lower performance useful strategies to improve specific pre-admission processes.

Comprehensive obesity evaluation and treatment of three adolescents: a case series.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent obesity is a chronic disease that is impacted from each patient's biopsychosocial milieu. Successfully treating pediatric obesity requires long-term, innovative, systematic involvement to facilitate patient and family engagement and change. METHODS: Extensive chart review was done for three obese adolescents who underwent comprehensive weight management in an adolescent clinic seen within the past 5 years. The charts were reviewed starting from the time of initial contact through the last visit in the clinic. The patients are no longer receiving care within the clinic. RESULTS: The patients presented with BMI>99th percentile, family history of obesity, severe psychosocial stressors, and multiple obesity-related comorbidities. Their treatment involved comprehensive multidisciplinary intervention in an adolescent weight management clinic within a tertiary care center. In addition to rigorous support through frequent office visits, these patients all eventually required temporary, alternative living arrangements to successfully implement recommendations. One patient resided with another family member; two went to inpatient weight management program care for 2-3 months. All subjects successfully lost weight when away from their primary residence, and they demonstrated improvement or resolution of comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS: This case series of three adolescents who underwent comprehensive obesity evaluation and treatment demonstrates multidisciplinary care across interconnected treatment programs and active engagement of family. Those who maintained successful weight loss reduced sedentary time, demonstrated family support (e.g., key members attending follow-up visits), and altered their living environment and were committed to their own health goals.

From Juvenile Offender Institutions to Residential Treatment Centers: Evidence of the Shifting Paradigm to Improved Youth and Community Outcomes.

Hundreds of thousands of youth are held every year in U.S. juvenile justice detention centers and incarceration facilities. Increasingly it is known that these facility placements are at best ineffective and at worst lead to additional youth recidivism outcomes. What is most concerning, though, is that a majority of these incarcerated youth have one or more mental health/substance abuse disorders, special education disabilities, or maltreatment victimization histories-comorbid situations that negatively impact their involvement with the juvenile courts. In this article the authors summarize the epidemiology of these youth problems within the juvenile justice system. The authors then compare the outcome evidence for the youth placed in juvenile justice facilities with those placed in residential treatment centers, finding significant advantages to addressing the problems through rehabilitative efforts. Recognizing that there are a small number of serious youthful offenders who will need placement, their analysis finds that the juvenile courts must continue (or in many instances begin) reshaping their detention and incarceration facilities reliance on punishment toward a rehabilitative residential model.