Posted: September 7th, 2024

Improved Treatment Options for Racial and Socioeconomic Minorities

Improved Treatment Options for Racial and Socioeconomic Minorities

Introduction
The suggested intervention programs for improved treatment options for racial and socioeconomic minorities in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment are a direct inpatient treatment facility for substance abuse for minority and low-income populations and provide exposure to different treatment modalities. When treatment facilities for substance used disorders put to use patient-centered care, allowing the patient to choose how they can be treated, there is a high possibility of completing the treatment and reducing the risk of relapse. The intervention design is a 30-day inpatient substance use disorder treatment, with a pilot group of 20 low-income individuals of all races and gender, many of them being minorities (African-American, Latino Americans, and others). The program involves offering different services such as evidence-based group and individual therapy, nutrition education, nature therapy, and all-inclusive wellness activities. Furthermore, the program will concentrate on the environmental factor influencing the life quality of patients while in the treatment facility. Finally, the program will involve different facilities in the facility to offer various services and support them in their daily recovery.
Study Objectives
i. To evaluate the quality level of substance use disorder treatment for low-income minorities and how that quality affects the treatment results.
ii. To identify effective intervention programs for the long-term success of substance use disorder treatment.
iii. To determine the importance of the treatment environment in treating substance use disorders for low-income minorities.
iv. To make recommendations to professionals working with minorities working with drug and substance abuse patients.
Research questions
The study questions will include:
i. How does increased access to different treatment models have a positive impact on substance?
ii. Does non-traditional interventions, such as holistic wellness practices and nature therapy, affect treatment outcomes of substance use disorders?
Hypothesis
The hypothesis of the study will be:
i. H0: There is no significant surge in the number of clients from low-income, a minority group that achieve long-lasting positive effects after being discharged from the treatment facilities
ii. H1: There is a significant surge in the number of clients from low-income, a minority group that achieves long-lasting positive effects after being discharged from the treatment facilities.
Chapter Two
Literature Review
SUD can be described as a medical condition depicted by clinically significant health, voluntary control, and social function impairments resulting from substance use. Substance use conditions range in duration, complexity, and severity from minor to severe. However, substance use conditions can be treated when effective strategies and treatment plans are employed to help handle the condition (Rieckmann et al., 2010). There is a wide range of available services and strategies to recognize, manage, and treat the problems and disorders due to substance use. In the past, different treatments happened with little or no involvement by general or primary health care. However, there is a shift towards the treatment delivery services in general practices of health care in the contemporary world. For individuals with moderate or mild substance use conditions, treatment through general healthcare systems is considered adequate. However, those individuals with acute substance use disorders always require special treatment.
Early intervention is the most effective means of helping an individual with a problem related to substance use and who may be at risk of developing disorders due to substance use. Screening for substance abuse is highly adopted in general health care systems to identify individuals who are starting the habit to intervene early before the progress of the condition. Due to enhanced screening, problem and disorder emergence are detected early enough, and if necessary early intervention is provided (Medina, 2015). The addition of services to tackle the disorders and problems of substance use in the typical health systems has prolonged the range of care, including the continuum of effective behavioral therapy, supportive services, and evidence-based medications. Nonetheless, several barriers have hindered the implementation of these services. It is precisely accurate for the handling of mental or physical and co-occurring disorders.
In some cases, substance abuse conditions usually develop in adolescence and often develop in complexity and severity with continued abuse of the substance. Substance abuse conditions are currently diagnostically categorized into three severity classes: severe, moderate, and mild. Treatments of substance use conditions are developed to help people reduce or stop harmful substance abuse, enhance their social and health function, and reduce the relapse risks. Concerning these advantages, substance use condition treatment is efficient and has many benefits to the individual. Studies have shown that substance use disorder treatment also enhances the health, quality, and overall productivity of an individual (Ettner et al., 2011). Besides, research has portrayed that that amount of money used in the treatment of substance abuse significantly saves both criminal justice and healthcare costs (Ettner et al., 2011). The intervention practices range from structured therapies to informal counseling. They always constitute feedback giving to the patient about their substance use level and offer advice to help individuals make correct decisions.
Motivational interviewing is another patient-centered counseling design that tackles an individual’s ambivalence to change. A therapist employs a conversational tactic to assist their patients in discovering their interest in changing their behavior of substance misuse. The therapist requests their patients to state their wish for change and any uncertainty they may have. Then, together (counselor and patient), they begin working on a strategy to change the client’s behavior and commit to the process of change (Medina, 2015). Motivational interviewing is always used primarily to determine and solve uncertainties, and the therapist is directive in meeting this objective. The approach is consistently effective in reducing individual’s substance use behavior in clients who come to treatment facilities for other health-related disorders. There are high chances that patients who receive motivational interviewing will adhere to a treatment strategy, and consequently, have a better treatment outcome.
Chapter Three
Methodology
The study will be conducted in Central City, Phoenix, Arizona, in Maricopa County. Phoenix is one of the cities with the highest substance use disorder rates, particularly in alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana, in the US. Therefore, the city was chosen as it has a racially diverse region with an approximate population of 65000 people. Sixty-five percent of the population are Hispanic, and eleven percent are blacks (“Central City village …”, 2020). Thus, the intervention program in this proposal is intended to serve the racially diverse population that uses government-funded insurance to pay for their treatment. In addition, this location is the best for the research because it gives access to the populations needed for the study (minority groups). Besides, Central City is strategically located near parks and trails with an abundance of nature; therefore, there will be many different places and easy access from the treatment facility.
The research will be a qualitative study employing a quasi-experimental design and will use secondary data. For the efficiency of the assessment of the intervention, a quasi-experimental design was employed. First, the experimental design will ease partnership with the already existing treatment facilities for low-income, minority patients. Second, the design makes it easy to acquire the available treatment information instead of allowing a random selection of patients for the program.
During the study, existing groups that appear similar will be recruited for the study. That is, the researcher will recruit existing low-income individuals and minority clients to participate in the study. In this design, control and treatment groups, where the groups are not random, always differ in many ways (Fitzpatrick & Meulemans, 2011). They are described as nonequivalent groups. Any confounding variables will be accounted for in the research by choosing similar groups or controlling the groups during analysis. The researcher will randomly recruit the Control group from the entire participant group. The main strength of using this study design is that it does not have time constraints associated with several accurate experimental designs. Besides, it does not have thorough testing of the cause-effect. The main weakness is that it lacks random assignments. Studies have shown that statistical tests may be meaningless without proper and accurate randomization (Fitzpatrick & Meulemans, 2011). Due to a lack of proper randomization, quasi-experimental designs may not be as reliable as actual experiments as measurements may be biased in some cases.
Study Population
The study will target adult low-income, minority individuals with substance use disorder. Therefore, the sampling frame was adult low-income, minority individuals (such as blacks and Hispanic) suffering from SUD in the Greater Phoenix, AZ area. The total participants for the research will be 20 people. Those eligible to participate in this study will be 18 years and above, racial/ethnic minority, and residing in Phoenix County. Similarly, individuals diagnosed with SUD and low annual income will be allowed to participate in this study.
The study will employ a non-probability voluntary response sampling strategy. The researchers will provide people in the street with flyers containing all the specifications for the study’s eligibility. Participants will be allowed to voluntarily agree to participate in the study (Cheein, 2015). Moreover, the program will partner with existing treatment facilities to obtain the required data. The weaknesses of this sampling strategy are the possibility of the language barrier and recruitment bias, which may lead to unreliable results. However, the strategy is easy, reducing time wastage during sampling.
Measurements
The independent variable will include low-income, minority individuals suffering from SUD and are 18 years and above. The dependent variable is the post-treatment outcome includes a length of sobriety, healthier eating habits, utilization of nature, utilization of wellness practices, and quality of life. Quality of life scale (QoL instrument) will be used to measure the dependent variables.
Data Collection
All collected data will go through coding and sorting, preparing it for analysis. Also, the researcher will use quantitative data collected through responding to closed-ended questionnaires for statistical analysis. Descriptive data will be completed using graphical presentations that include bar graphs, frequency tables, pie charts, and line charts. Finally, the researcher will assess the effects of the airline’s marketing strategy on the overall business competency and competitive advantage by using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and regression analysis. However, before doing the study, the researcher will run a pilot test by conducting one interview and sending about five questionnaires. The test will be used to predict the success of the main study. The data will be collected in the Central City in Phoenix country, from low-income, minority individuals suffering from SUD.
The study’s validity can be assessed using Cronbach’s alpha tests. The test assesses the reliability of multiple question Linkert scale surveys. In addition, the test helps a researcher identify how closely related a set of test items are as a group. Latent variables such as openness, sobriety, and a person’s conscientiousness are challenging to measure in real-time. As such, the tool will help in measuring internal consistency in the study.
Ethical considerations
Before administering questionnaires, I will first seek the consent of different managers before inviting them for interviews. Also, the researcher will handle any data collected confidentially. Respondent’s privacy during and after physical interviews will be guaranteed. The questionnaires and audio recordings will be destroyed after the research.

References
AZDHS. (2020). Central City village primary care area: 2020 statistical profile. Arizona Department of Health Services. https://azdhs.gov/documents/prevention/health-systems-development/data-reports-maps/primary-care/maricopa/39.pdf
Cheein, F. A. (2015). Intelligent sampling technique for path tracking controllers. IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, 24(2), 747-755.
Ettner S. L., Huang D., Evans E, Ash D. R., Hardy M., Jourabchi M., and Hser YI, (2006). Benefit-cost in the California treatment outcome project: Does substance abuse treatment “pay for itself”? Health Services Research. (1):192–213. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
Fitzpatrick, M. J., & Meulemans, Y. N. (2011). Assessing an information literacy assignment and workshop using a quasi-experimental design. College Teaching, 59(4), 142-149.
Medina, J., (2015). Symptoms of substance use disorders (Revised for DSM-5). [May 3, 2021]. Retrieved from http://psychcentral.com/disorders/revised-alcohol substance-use-disorder/
Rieckmann T., Kovas A. E, Rutkowski B. A., (2010). Adoption of medications in substance abuse treatment: Priorities and strategies of single state authorities. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. (Suppl 6):227–238. [PMC free article] [PubMed]

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