TY - JOUR
T1 - Everyone deserves services no matter what
T2 - Defining success in harm-reduction-based substance user treatment
AU - Lee, Heather Sophia
AU - Zerai, Assata
N1 - Funding Information:
The original dissertation research for this work was conducted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The writing of this article was supported by the NIDA San Francisco Treatment Research Center (P50 DA-09253) and the NIDA program for Postdoctoral Training in Drug Abuse Treatment and Services Research (T32 DA-007250). Most importantly we thank the study participants without whom this work would not have been possible.
PY - 2010/10
Y1 - 2010/10
N2 - This article reports qualitative interview data from a study of participant-generated outcomes of two harm reduction programs in the United States. We address the question:"What does success in harm-reduction-based substance user treatment look like" Providers in this study understood harm reduction to adhere to notions of "any positive change," client centeredness, and low-threshold services. Participants reported changes in demarginalization, engagement in the program, quality of life, social functioning, changes in substance use, and changes in future goals and plans. The nature of these changes is difficult to articulate within traditional notions of success (i.e., abstinence, program completion, etc.). We conclude that participants in harm reduction programs experience tangible positive changes but that legitimation of these changes calls for a reconceptualization of "outcomes" and "success" in the current context of substance user treatment and research.
AB - This article reports qualitative interview data from a study of participant-generated outcomes of two harm reduction programs in the United States. We address the question:"What does success in harm-reduction-based substance user treatment look like" Providers in this study understood harm reduction to adhere to notions of "any positive change," client centeredness, and low-threshold services. Participants reported changes in demarginalization, engagement in the program, quality of life, social functioning, changes in substance use, and changes in future goals and plans. The nature of these changes is difficult to articulate within traditional notions of success (i.e., abstinence, program completion, etc.). We conclude that participants in harm reduction programs experience tangible positive changes but that legitimation of these changes calls for a reconceptualization of "outcomes" and "success" in the current context of substance user treatment and research.
KW - demarginalization
KW - harm reduction
KW - legitimation
KW - low-threshold services
KW - quality of life
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U2 - 10.3109/10826081003712060
DO - 10.3109/10826081003712060
M3 - Article
C2 - 20397869
AN - SCOPUS:78049470954
SN - 1082-6084
VL - 45
SP - 2411
EP - 2427
JO - Substance Use and Misuse
JF - Substance Use and Misuse
IS - 14
ER -