Study Details | Pathways to Work

28607-New Orleans Homeless Substance Abusers Project (NOHSAP)

Study quality: Low

Low

Reason for the rating: This study received a low study quality rating because the implementation of the randomized controlled trial was compromised and it does not demonstrate that the intervention and comparison groups were sufficiently similar before the intervention.

Intervention: The New Orleans Homeless Substance Abusers Project (NOHSAP)—Transitional Care (TC)

Population and employment barriers:

Specific employment barriers (Homelessness, Substance use disorder)

Services provided:

Case management, Health services (Substance use disorder treatment and mental health services), Housing

Setting: Urban only

Study design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

This study used a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design. Adults who completed NOHSAP's seven-day detox program and were evaluated as suitable for the intervention were included in the pool for selection into the intervention group. Initially, researchers assigned 24 participants deemed suitable for treatment to the intervention group with a probability of 1 until capacity was reached. The remaining participants in the eligible pool were to be randomly assigned to the intervention (residential transitional care or residential transitional care plus extended care/independent living) or the comparison group. However, of the 164 individuals who received the intervention, only 53 were randomized. In addition, 80 individuals were enrolled in the transitional care program without randomization; 8 enrolled after being randomized to the comparison group; and 11 were randomized to the intervention group but did not enroll. The comparison group consisted of 506 participants in total. Both the unit of assignment and unit of analysis were at the individual level.

Time period of study:

February 1991 to January 1993

Pathways only reports results from studies with a study quality rating of high or moderate.

Sample characteristics

Age

Mean age

34 years

Sex

Female	75%
Male	25%

Participant race and ethnicity

Black or African American	82%
White, not Hispanic	16%
Another race	2%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

Specific employment barriers

Were experiencing homelessness

100%

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

Not available

Intervention services:

The intervention group participated in a residential transitional care (TC) treatment program intended for individuals experiencing homelessness and substance use disorders. The intervention was designed to last 21 days. Participants were housed in the NOHSAP residential facility, where they participated in group meetings twice per day, received assessment and case management services, and were placed in an off-campus drug or alcohol support group. Those who completed the TC program were also eligible for placement in a 12-month extended care/independent living (ECIL) program, which continued and amplified the services received in the TC program. Before they were assigned to the intervention group, all participants completed a seven-day detoxification program in the residential facility, involving limited counseling and assessment, and an introduction to Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Cocaine Anonymous principles.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

The comparison group participated in a seven-day residential detoxification program, involving housing in the NOHSAP facility, limited counseling and assessment, and an introduction to Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Cocaine Anonymous principles. They were then released back into the community, with no further services provided.

Study publications

Devine, Joel A., Charles J. Brody, and James D. Wright (1997). Evaluating an alcohol and drug treatment program for the homeless; An econometric approach, Evaluation and Program Planning 20(2): 205-215. Available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149718996000547?via%3Dihub.

Devine, Joel A., James D. Wright, and Charles J. Brody (1995). An evaluation of an alcohol and drug treatment program for homeless substance abusers, Evaluation Review 19(6): 620-645.

Devine, Joel A., James D. Wright, and Laurie M. Joyner (1994). Issues in implementing a randomized experiment in a field setting, New Directions for Program Evaluation, (1994)63: 27-40. Available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ev.1681.

Wright, James D., Joel A. Devine, and Neil Eddington (1993). The New Orleans Homeless Substance Abusers Programs, Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 10(3-4): 51-64. Available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J020V10N03_05.

View the glossary for more information about these and other terms used on this page.

The Pathways Clearinghouse refers to interventions by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some intervention names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.

Study of The New Orleans Homeless Substance Abusers Project (NOHSAP)—Transitional Care (TC)