What do clients want from alcohol and other drug treatment services? A mixed methods examination

Abstract

This article presents findings from a study that examined the assistance aspirations of clients attending an outpatient alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment service. Key research questions were as follows: What type(s) of assistance do clients want? Do assistance aspirations vary by age, gender or ethnicity? and Are assistance aspirations predictive of subsequent attendance duration? The study was set in an outpatient AOD treatment service located in Auckland, New Zealand. Data were collected from two client groups via a questionnaire (n = 109) and a semi-structured interview (n = 12). Questionnaire data were collected following the completion of the first attended appointment. Interview data were completed, on average, after participants had attended two treatment appointments (range 1–3). When asked to indicate the services they would most like to receive, from a list of 10 possible options, questionnaire participants most frequently selected the options ‘talk to a professional about an AOD-related problem’ (71%), ‘practical strategies for making/maintaining changes to AOD use’ (66%) and ‘ongoing support while making/maintaining changes to AOD use’ (61%). These options were also the three most likely to be endorsed as the number one service type wanted. Binary regression analysis identified few between-group differences concerning the frequency with which each option was endorsed. The interview data were consistent with the questionnaire findings suggesting that, irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity and subsequent attendance duration, outpatient AOD treatment clients may share a common set of assistance aspirations at the point of service entry.