Disparities in Completion of Substance Abuse Treatment among Latino Subgroups in Los Angeles County, CA

Introduction: Despite concerns nationally with health disparities, research evidence focused on substance abuse treatment utilization and outcome for Latinos is in short supply.

Methods: This study analyzed a subset of multicross-sectional data (2006-2009) on Latinos collected from publicly funded facilities in Los Angeles County, CA (N = 12,871). We examined individual and service-level factors associated with treatment completion among subgroups of first-time Latino treatment clients. The sample was 73% Mexicans, 0.7% Cubans, 1% Puerto Ricans, and 25% other Latinos.

Results: Univariate analysis showed that Cubans and Puerto Ricans were less likely to complete treatment than Mexicans and other Latinos. Cubans and Puerto Ricans entered treatment at an older age and with higher formal education than Mexicans, yet they were more likely to report mental health issues and use of cocaine and heroin as primary drugs of choice respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that having mental health issues, reporting high use of drugs at intake, and use of methamphetamines and marijuana were associated with decreased odds of completing treatment among all Latino subgroups. In contrast, age at first drug use, treatment duration, and referral monitoring by the criminal system increased the odds of completing treatment for all members.

Conclusion/Implications: These findings have implications for targeting interventions for members of different Latinos groups during their first treatment episode. Promising individual and service factors associated with treatment completion can inform the design of culturally specific integrated recovery models that can be evaluated in small-scale randomized pilot studies.