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The Kansas Substance Abuse Treatment Needs Assessment Project

About

The Comprehensive Needs Assessment of Substance Abuse Treatment Services awarded to DATACORP and PAXIS by AAPS has four major components. In Year 1 , a synthetic estimation study, a social indicator study, and a gap analysis study will be conducted. In Year 2, a secondary analysis study of the Communities That Care (CTC) data will be completed. Each of these study components will be used to build a comprehensive picture of substance abuse treatment need among Kansas's counties and planning regions. For this project, being in need of substance abuse treatment is defined as having a DSM-IV diagnosis of alcohol abuse or dependence or drug abuse or dependence. To learn more about this study, please contactus.

Year 1

The synthetic estimation study involves applying national substance use disorder prevalence rates to Kansas's county-level demographics. This method allows computation of county level estimates of substance abuse treatment need by gender, race, and age. These estimates also will be aggregated to give regional estimates of treatment need. In addition, subgroup estimates will be computed for specific populations such as pregnant women and injection drug users, for example. While the synthetic estimation methodology provides absolute numbers to help estimate treatment need, it is limited by the fact that it relies on national prevalence rates and therefore may not reflect regional variations in need. The social indicator component of the needs assessment is designed to help to fill this gap.

The social indicator study will use Kansas specific archival data gathered by numerous state agencies. Data that will be taken into consideration include crime, hospital discharge, treatment admissions, fatal crash, liquor license, mortality and vital statistics data. All of these data will be tested for reliability and validity. Reliable and valid indicators will be mapped at the county level, and a table of rates will accompany the map. Three composite indices will be developed to describe alcohol and other drug problems across Kansas's counties: an alcohol index, a drug index, and a combined alcohol and drug index. These data give an estimate of relative treatment need and will be useful in highlighting areas that may not be captured by the synthetic estimates.

The gap analysis study will compare the state's treatment admissions data with the needs assessment findings to identify areas of the state where unmet treatment need is the greatest thereby identifying areas that require greater capacity. These comparisons will be performed for specific demographic groups and special populations. Wherever possible, results will be analyzed at the county level and aggregated to the regional level. Regional profiles will be created with recommendations on which gaps should be a priority and how they may be filled. Recommendations will also be created for the state as a whole.

Year 2

In Year 2, data collected from the Communities That Care survey will be used to determine if a useful secondary analysis method can be developed to estimate treatment need among youth cohorts that have aged into young adulthood. Kansas has one of the largest and longest running databases using the Community That Care survey. In theory, the CTC data might be used to predict substance abuse treatment and related social problems 3-5 years out, using lagged analyses. It is expected that such measures as 30-day use variations might correlate or predict arrests for drunk driving by county or emergency room admissions. The CTC data contain these measures, and these analyses may be useful in planning and policy efforts.

Conclusion

The Kansas Comprehensive Needs Assessment will help decision makers create better informed strategic plans. The study will estimate where the need and demand for services is highest in each region, and how much of this need and demand has been met. This information will indicate where decision makers should locate new services and expand existing services. The needs assessment will also shed light on met and unmet need and demand among various demographic groups and populations. Decision makers can use this information to design or expand services specific to these populations and to plan outreach efforts. These decisions about the locations, types, and quantities of services can form a strategic plan based on objective, quantifiable data. This plan can be a powerful tool to bolster local support for treatment and demonstrate need on grant applications.

The treatment needs assessment will produce several preliminary reports, presentations, and final reports. This series of reports will be available beginning in February 2006. These reports will be followed by presentations, the first of which is planned for April 2006, followed by final technical reports that will integrate the results of each of the needs assessment studies. We hope that providers and other treatment planners will find these reports useful in their treatment planning efforts.

Contacts

P. Allison Minugh, Ph.D.
President DATACORP
200 West 17th
Cheyenne, WY
307-634-1808
aminguh@mjdatacorp.com

Dennis Embry, Ph.D.
President/CEO PAXIS Institute
PO Box 68494
Tucson, AZ 85737
520-299-6770
drpaxis@earthlink.net

Page by P. Allison Minugh, Ph.D., President/CEO and Nicoletta A. Lomuto, MA, Director of Operations, DATACORP 1/27/06