How many treatment episodes are necessary for latinos to achieve their treatment goals?

Survival Cox-regression was used to model time to treatment completion considering treatment episodes, as the main outcome of interest. Using multi-year (2006-2009) data, the analytic sample consisted of 52,799 clients from 276 treatment programs. Findings supported the role of homelessness and mental health status and their association with more episodes to complete treatment successfully. Results also showed that the rate of treatment completion was reduced by 41% among African Americans and by 17% among Latinos, compared to Whites. With each additional treatment episode, the rate of treatment completion dropped by 73% for all groups. But overall, Whites and males were more likely to complete treatment throughout their treatment career trajectories, compared to gender, racial and ethnic minority members. This study highlights disparities in treatment episodes for minorities, as well as their rate of successfully meeting their recovery goals. Implications for public health interventions to enhance treatment adherence are discussed.