Evidence Based Practices

Funded by NIH-NIDA- R01 DA038608-03– The implementation of medication-assisted treatment reduces disparities in substance use disorder treatment completion between Mexican Americans and non-Latino Whites. What role does implementation of evidence-based and culturally responsive practices play in reducing disparities for Mexican-Americans in substance abuse treatment?

Research is limited on the extent to which implementation of evidence-based and culturally responsive practices decreases disparities in treatment outcomes for substance use disorders. We examined the role of contingency management treatment (CMT), medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and culturally competent practices on Mexican Americans’ rate of successful completion of treatment.

1. Less than half of the programs highly implemented CMT, MAT, and culturally competent practices.
2. Mexican Americans in programs with high degree of implementation of MAT had higher odds of successfully completing treatment compared to non-Latino Whites and programs with low MAT.
3. Compared to individuals using heroin, individuals using other drugs had higher odds of completion, whereas those reporting history of mental health issues had lower odds of completing treatment.

]Guerrero, E. G., Garner, B. R., Cook, B., & Kong, Y. (2017). Does the implementation of evidence-based and culturally competent practices reduce disparities in addiction treatment outcomes?.Addictive Behaviors, 73, 119-123.