ABSTRACT
This article presents an overall view of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Beginning with the history, this article describes various models and essential ingredients of EAPs. It then discusses current trends including integration with Work/Life, web-based services, EAP accreditation, and the growth of international programs. Several issues are discussed including the need for licensing done nationally rather than by states and the effect the lack of substance abuse and brief counseling education has had on the delivery of EAP services. Future directions for EAPs emphasize the importance of quality assurance and the development of performance measurements, performance guarantees, and outcome measurements. The formation of the Alliance for Employee Assistance Advancement, an organization of organizations, completes the description and shows a new direction for EAPs in the next millennium.
Subject(s)
Crisis Intervention , Occupational Health Services/trends , Workplace/psychology , Counseling/methods , Forecasting , Humans , Psychotherapy, BriefABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a brief intervention for mandated students in the context of the University Assistance Program, a Student Assistance Program developed and modeled after workplace Employee Assistance Programs. METHOD: Participants were 265 (196 males and 69 females) judicially mandated college students enrolled in a large, urban university in the northeast United States. All participants were sanctioned by the university's judicial office for an alcohol- or drug-related violation. Participants were randomized to one of two intervention conditions (the University Assistance Program or services as usual) and were assessed at baseline and 3 and 6 months after intervention. RESULTS: Growth curve analyses showed that, relative to services as usual, the University Assistance Program was more efficacious in reducing past-90-day weekday alcohol consumption and the number of alcohol-related consequences while increasing past-90-day use of protective behaviors and coping skills. No significant differences in growth trajectories were found between the two intervention conditions on past-90-day blood alcohol concentration, total alcohol consumption, or weekend consumption. CONCLUSIONS: The University Assistance Program may have a possible advantage over services as usual for mandated students.
Subject(s)
Alcohol Drinking/prevention & control , Mandatory Programs/statistics & numerical data , Organizational Policy , Student Health Services/standards , Students/statistics & numerical data , Universities/standards , Adaptation, Psychological , Adult , Alcohol Drinking/blood , Alcohol Drinking/trends , Alcohol-Related Disorders/epidemiology , Alcohol-Related Disorders/prevention & control , Ethanol/blood , Female , Health Education , Humans , Male , Program Evaluation , Student Health Services/methods , Student Health Services/trends , Surveys and Questionnaires , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
To improve the quality of care, the Institute of Medicine has called for the integration of mental health and substance use care with primary care services. This article reports three case studies of service integration efforts in universities. The results provide support for the feasibility of such initiatives. In the three case studies, service integration proved to be both clinically and financially feasible.