With continual monitoring of outcomes, New Directions for Women can improve treatment services, increase treatment access and improve overall satisfaction with services provided. Our Quality Improvement department is dedicated to collecting, tracking, and analyzing our outcomes in order to constantly improve.
Why are Outcomes important?
In an eight year scientific study of 1,162 people with substance use disorder, the researchers were able to follow up on over 94% of participants. Some takeaways from this research are:
- About a third of people who are abstinent less than a year will remain abstinent.
- For those who achieve a year of sobriety, less than half will relapse.
- If you can make it to 5 years of sobriety, your chance of relapse is less than 15 percent.
Our efforts to provide community support to alumnae long past discharge support the chronic disease recovery model of health maintenance over a lifetime. While treatment may last only 90 days, alumnae’s participation in recovery events at New Directions for Women continues far past that. New Directions for Women has an extremely active Alumnae program that supports the ongoing recovery of new members and current clients. By participating in the Alumnae organization, women learn that they can have a fun and fulfilling life in sobriety while giving back to others. Follow-up surveys are also a key tool used to measure our effectiveness in helping women achieve sustained recovery.
NAATP Outcomes Pilot Program
New Directions for Women was fortunate to participate in the NAATP (National Association of Treatment Providers) Outcomes Pilot Program (OPP). This is a multi-site study designed to measure long-term outcomes for clients who received inpatient substance use disorder services. NDFW gathered the survey information, and OMNI institute, an independent and impartial organization, analyzed all data. Data collection occurred from January – December 2017, and we received compiled information in November 2018.
After a period of participation for more than a year, we were happy to see very positive outcomes! Of all individuals surveyed, we were able to maintain consistent contact with 60% of all participants at one year post discharge. Of those 60%, 76% reported complete abstinence one year post discharge. While they did not release data comparing the treatment centers against each other, they did notify us we had the highest response rate and the highest abstinence rate one year post discharge. We continue to have the goal of 70% of alumnae (who completed the clinically recommended length of time) in recovery one year post discharge from their drug of choice.
Client Satisfaction
These surveys are given to clients completing their treatment process. Currently these surveys encompass the following sections:
- Section One: Experiences during Intake (feeling welcomed, waiting area comfortability, financial responsibilities being explained, intake process was timely)
- Section Two: Experiences with clinical services (therapist was competent and knowledgeable, therapist helped me with a discharge plan, treated me with dignity and respect)
- Section Three: Helpfulness of treatment services for personal recovery (covering specific treatment services and rating how helpful they were to the client’s personal recovery. Examples are: Psychodrama, Relapse Prevention, etc.)
- Section Four: Satisfaction with treatment services (opportunity to design my personal recovery plan, understanding about the disease of addiction)
- Section Five: Experience with childcare services (providing a safe and nurturing environment for children, Daycare Coordinator provided concerns and progress reports in a timely effective manner)
- Section Six: Experience with support services (satisfaction with meals, facility and housekeeping, feelings of safety)
- Section Seven: Experience with administration and management (administrative staff was ethical, NDFW’s core values and mission were explained)
- Section Eight: Overall impressions (Would recommend NDFW to others, motivation to work towards recovery ongoingly after treatment)
Satisfaction Surveys were taken from clients upon successful completion of their treatment program in 2018-2019. Client Satisfaction Highlights:
- Majority of clients reported being “Very Satisfied” with treatment services
- Over 85% agreed or strongly agreed that NDFW helped them understand addictive disease better.
Post Discharge Surveys with Alumnae
We have continued conducting outcome Post Discharge Surveys with alumnae to track success in intervals from 30 days to 2 years after treatment completion. This survey asks if they have experienced continuous sobriety since discharge and covers:
- Family, health, and living conditions including stress levels, their living situation, and health physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
- Education and employment
- Recovery Activities (12 step or self-help community participation, attending Aftercare program)
We were able to collect 201 total responses in 2018-2019, and 79% did report abstinence since discharge. 69.65% were employed, and 70% continued to work the 12-steps.
Saturday Family Group Satisfaction
We encourage our clients’ family members and loved ones to participate in our weekly family group and self-help resources on their own, as addiction is a family disease.
Evaluations cover family members’ satisfaction on the weekly topics, including being informative, clearly presented, helping the individual understand addictive disease, and satisfaction on the group discussion. It also covers satisfaction on the group facilitator.
393 family members and support persons were surveyed in 2018-2019 to gauge the effectiveness and overall satisfaction of the weekly Family Group session on Saturdays
Highlights from Family Group Session
- 89.6% respondents felt the session was overall Very Good or Excellent.
- 87.2% respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the topics discussed helped them better understand the disease of addiction.
- 94.4% agreed or strongly agreed that the topics were informative and clearly presented.
