Gender, waitlists, and outcomes for public-sector drug treatment

This study evaluated gender differences in baseline characteristics and treatment outcomes among 654 treatment seekers referred to state-funded drug treatment. Women were significantly less likely than men to enter treatment following referral, but not significantly less likely to complete treatment, once they entered. After adjustment for treatment dose, gender differences in substance use at followup (3-6 months after leaving the treatment wait list) were nonsignificant. The genders did not differ significantly in rates of psychosocial improvement between referral and followup. Women waited significantly longer than men before leaving the treatment wait list (with or without treatment entry), but wait time was associated with entry rates only among men. The authors discuss system-level and personal characteristics that potentially affect wait times and call for additional study of whether abbreviating waits can increase women's treatment entry rates.