Feasibility of a computerized intervention for offenders with substance use disorders: a research note

Objectives

Despite evidence that treatment is effective in reducing recidivism among inmates with substance use problems, scarce resources mean that few of those in need of treatment actually receive it. Computerized substance abuse interventions could be used to expand access to treatment in prisons without placing an undue burden on resources. The major aim of the study was to compare treatment conditions in terms of their service utilization, skills acquisition, and treatment satisfaction.

Methods

The study recruited men and women with substance use disorders from 10 prisons in 4 states. In an open label clinical trial, 494 subjects were randomly assigned either to the Experimental condition, a computerized drug treatment intervention, the Therapeutic Education System (TES; n?=?249), or to the Control condition, Standard Care (n?=?245). Chi-square tests compared groups on categorical variables and independent samples t tests were used for interval level continuous variables.

Results

Initial evidence demonstrated: (1) comparable group rates of session attendance and high rates of TES module completion for experimental subjects; (2) comparable group gains in the development of coping skills; and (3) a more favorable view of TES than of Standard Care.

Conclusions

Collectively, these results show that a computerized intervention, such as TES, can be implemented successfully in prison. Given the barriers to the delivery of substance abuse treatment typically encountered in correctional settings, computerized interventions have the potential to fill a significant treatment gap and are particularly well suited to inmates with mild to moderate substance use disorders who often are not treated.     

Gender-specific factors associated with community substance abuse treatment utilization among incarcerated substance users

This article describes the independent correlates of preincarceration community substance abuse treatment utilization for male and female offenders currently participating in prison-based treatment. As part of the National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies cooperative agreement, this protocol was implemented by four collaborating research centers. Males with a history of treatment utilization were more likely to be older, to have used crack, and to have had a greater number of arrests, and they were less likely to be arrested for a violent charge. Females with previous treatment were more likely to have been hospitalized for a health condition and were significantly more likely to have lived with someone else before prison rather than in their own home. These findings suggest that factors associated with preincarceration treatment utilization differ by gender, which may have important implications for correctional-based treatment assessment, reentry planning, and transitional case management.     

Is In-Prison Treatment Enough? A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Prison-Based Treatment and Aftercare Services for Substance-Abusing Offenders

This study performed a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) of the Amity in-prison Therapeutic Community (TC) and Vista aftercare programs for criminal offenders in California. For the average treatment participant, the cost of treatment was $4,112, which led to approximately fifty-one fewer days incarcerated (36% less) than the average individual in the control group. This implies that, for the average offender, treatment reduced recidivism at a cost of $80 per incarceration day. For participants who received both in-prison treatment and aftercare services, an additional day of incarceration was avoided at a cost of $51 per day relative to those that received in-prison treatment only.     

Scale of production and choice of technique in the engineering industries in developing countries

This article examines the relationship between scale of production, optimal choice of technique and costs for three engineering industries: nuts and bolts, iron founding and machine tools. In all three industries costs of production fell as the scale of output increased. This was associated with switches of technique and the spread of fixed costs over a larger number of units. The capital‐output ratio fell and labour productivity increased with increases in scale while, in most cases, the capital‐labour ratio increased. The implications of these findings are briefly discussed.     

Pulmonary interstitial emphysema in live birth determination: radiographic and gross pathologic features

Pulmonary interstitial emphysema (PIE) has previously been reported as a useful finding in the determination of live birth in cases where the birth and death were not attended. Herein, we present the radiographic and gross pathologic features of PIE in such a case. In this instance, in addition to parenchymal interstitial emphysema, there were subpleural air collections and a pneumothorax.     

Seeds for use and conservation

The Seed Bank of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew contains one of the world's largest collections of seeds of wild plants. The history and physical nature of the Bank are described, together with the principles of seed physiology on which the collection is based. A major policy is the collecting, long-term storage and distribution of seeds from arid and semi-arid areas, particularly in developing countries. Both the conservation and the utilisation of plant resources are cheaply and efficiently achievable by the Seed Bank, but potential end-users of these resources, such as non-governmental organisations, are difficult to contact — a problem which this article aims to redress.