Importance of Assessment for Drug Abuse Treatment

Substance abuse is a major public health and social problem. It costs our nation $484 million annually, more than the health care costs of either diabetes or cancer, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Substance abuse is associated with a number of social problems, and can lead to accidents, overdoses and chronic disease. The substance abuse assessment process helps identify the problem for effective treatment and prevention.

Individual

• Substance abuse assessments are used to determine the treatment needs of the individual being assessed--and whether treatment is needed at all. Assessment tools such as the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) require responses to a number of questions, including: types and amount of substances used and how often they were used; medical, legal, education and employment histories; family history (including drug use and any domestic violence or sexual abuse); sexual history (history of STDs, or high-risk sexual practices); and social status assessment of present relationships in the individual's life. Substance abuse clients commonly hide evidence of substance abuse; however, answers to the questions above reveal substance abuse patterns to skilled counselors, in spite of the individual's attempts to conceal them.

Family

• Substance abuse assessments identify family behavior and communication issues that might be improved by counseling or other intervention strategies. Other than the individual who abuses substances, her family is impacted the most from substance abuse. Families often behave in ways that protect the substance abuser from consequences that might break through her denial system and show her that treatment is needed. Families may also behave in ways during early recovery that make the recovering individual more likely to relapse. Substance abuse treatment should always include family intervention; thus, assessment of the family's needs is important.

Community

• The entire community is affected by substance abuse and should be involved in its treatment and prevention. Substance abuse assessment of individuals informs health care facilities, legal organizations, counseling establishments, employers and social service organizations of the needs of substance abusers in general. This makes it possible for various segments of the community to deal with the problem of substance abuse as a unified whole within the city, county, state and nation.

Research

• Statistics are compiled from substance abuse assessment information. Researchers use these statistics to determine which drugs are most abused, why people are abusing drugs, and which treatment modalities work, as well as which ones tend to be ineffective for the substance-abusing public. Many new treatment approaches are developed through studies performed by social scientists using information compiled through the individual substance abuse assessment process.

Evaluation

• Treatment programs and procedures and prevention efforts can be evaluated for effectiveness through information and statistics gathered through the substance abuse assessment process. Such evaluation can impact substance abuse trends for local communities, the nation and the world.