Factors associated with outpatient methadone maintenance treatment retention among Hispanic injection drug users

Given a lack of research in this area, there is an urgent need to understand the underlying causes of substance abuse related health disparities and the factors related to completion of treatment among Hispanics minorities. This study, based on the behavioral model for vulnerable populations (BMVP), used the California Drug and Alcohol Treatment Assessment (CALDATA) to examine what factors were associated with outpatient methadone maintenance retention (defined as sucessful treatment completion) among Hispanic injection drug users (IDUs). Archival data was collected from 291 Hispanic patients in methadone maintenance treatment who participated in the CALDATA . A hierarchical logistic regression was performed to assess the relative importance of factors related to treatment completion. Results show that 47.4% of the Hispanic sample did not complete successful methadone maintence tratment. Factors associated with successful treatment completion included paying out of pocket for treatment, receiving counseling services, not using alcohol as a main drug, higher methadone dose, and living in stable housing. The findings suggests the importance of ancilliary services and supports to reduce Hispanics' higher risk of attrition from methadone maintenance programs.