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Subgroups
Once potential participants completed drug and alcohol detoxification, they received a baseline assessment by research staff to determine their eligibility for the study. Participants (known to be experiencing homelessness and to have substance use disorders at intake) were deemed eligible if they had lived in or near Albuquerque, NM, for three months or more, did not have serious disabilities, and had no dependent children. Once they were determined to be eligible, participants were randomly assigned to one of three study groups. Due to implementation challenges, however, the intervention group condition that provided housing assistance without peer support was discontinued about eight months after the first participant was randomly assigned and replaced with referrals to substance use treatment and transportation assistance, but without residential housing (reviewed here as the comparison condition). Consequently, participants were never randomly assigned between the intervention conditions reviewed here.
April 1991 to December 1993
The Lovelace Medical Foundation in collaboration with Albuquerque's Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) Clinic in partnership with St. Martin's Hospitality Center (SMC)
The intervention condition of housing assistance without peer support provided low-intensity services to adults who were experiencing homelessness and who also had problems with alcohol. They had to have lived in or near Albuquerque, NM, for three months or more. (Participants could not have serious disabilities or dependent children.) Comparison participants received community-based housing (apartment- or motel-based) and random alcohol and drug testing. Participants were also required to monitor their use of substance abuse and rehabilitation services and other services received in the community twice per week. All comparison condition services were generally unsupervised. The comparison condition was terminated in December 1991, after 92 participants were randomly assigned to this condition, due to implementation issues and limitations in unsupervised design of services.
The referrals to the substance use treatment and transportation assistance (comparison condition) provided low-intensity services to adults experiencing homelessness who had problems with alcohol and had lived in or near Albuquerque, NM, for three months or more. (Participants could not have serious disabilities or dependent children.) Comparison participants were referred to local and statewide alcohol treatment, were paid bus fare to treatment facilities, and were paid to provide data on their use of health services at biweekly check-ins with program staff. The comparison condition began operating in December 1991, about eight months after the first study participant was randomized. This replaced a housed comparison condition (reviewed here as the intervention condition) that was terminated due to implementation issues and limitations in the unsupervised service delivery model.
None
Project H&ART took place in Albuquerque, NM. Participants lived in program-provided apartments, and most program activities took place in a nearby office building.