Johns Hopkins to Study Best Practices for Post-Rehab Treatment
Johns Hopkins University researchers are hoping to provide insight into one of the most perplexing problems dealt with in drug treatment – how to provide help to patients after they are done with their initial treatment. The JHU Gazette reports that the university has received a grant of almost $1 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to research the best practices for support of patients after they leave a drug rehab program.
“Recovery from substance abuse is a long-term process because of the chronic, relapsing nature of the disease. So continuing support is helpful for clients to be successful,” said Maxine Stitzer, a professor in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine’s Behavioral Pharmacology Research. “Our goal is to find out what methods will best help patients to enroll in outpatient care.”
The study will focus on patients who leave a particular substance addiction center in nearby Baltimore, Maryland. Some clients will be given a ride directly to an outpatient care center after leaving rehab. Others will be offered a gift card to be used in outpatient terms, while a third group will get a personal tour of the outpatient facilities from its director.
