AN EVALUATION OF THE COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF RESIDENTIAL SOCIAL MODEL DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT PROGRAMS IN RELATION TO
IN-PATIENT MEDICAL MODEL TREATMENT PROGRAMS AND COMMUNITY-
BASED SOCIAL MODEL PROGRAMS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM RECIDIVISM RATES: A RESEARCH PROPOSAL
The proposed study will evaluate the comparative effectiveness of residential social model drug addiction treatment programs in relation to (a) in-patient medical model treatment programs and (b) community-based social model programs within the context of short-term and long-term recidivism rates. In-patient medical model programs typically are the most expensive approaches to the treatment of drug addition, while community-based social model programs are among the least expensive. Residential social model programs typically are (a) less expensive than in-patient medical model programs and (b) more expensive that community-based social model programs. The comparative value of the programs, however, is best assessed within the context of the long-term costs to society associated with the recidivism of drug addicted persons.
2. Statement of Purpose and Background
The toll exacted by drug abuse on the American society and on individuals within the society in both social and economic contexts is both appalling and enormous. Federal, state, and local governments in the United States commit an enormous amount of their resources (financial, human, and physical) to fighting the country's drug problem. In spite of all of these efforts, and in the face of claims of great success by the federal government's national drug war czars, however, the illegal drug trade and use in the United States continues to flourish. Frustration caused by the apparent lack of success of the American drug war has created serious divisions in society as to how best attack the problem (National Center for health Statistics, 2003).
Addiction is a widely ...