Study Design: Comparing Pre-ICAN Results and Post-ICAN Recovery Model Results
Another idea for this experiment would be to compare previous patient data from the InterCommunity Health facility before the implementation of their ICAN Recover model with new data from patients after the implementation of the ICAN Recover model. For this experiment one would assign the control group to be patients who participated in InterCommunity Health’s programs prior to the implementation of the ICAN Recover treatment model, (or those undergoing treatments that do not involve ICAN Recover if the data is not available); the treatment group would then consist of any individuals whose treatment has incorporated the ICAN Recover model. With this control group it will allow for direct comparison of the same treatment facility before and after the implementation of the ICAN program to address its effectiveness. Additionally, it is important that each kind of treatment within the InterCommunity Health facility is distinguished from each other so that results from detox are not compared with those of in-patient and out-patient.
Assigning Comparison Groups
Comparison groups will be split up into two with one group being any participants who were involved with InterCommunity health before the implementation of the ICAN Recover program. The second group for this study will be the new participants who are receiving the ICAN Recover treatment model in order to see if it is yielding more effective results. It is important to remove any participants for the second group that have received the treatment before ICAN Recover was implemented so that the two groups can be differentiated from each other better. It is important that any patients who have undergone both treatment models should be left out of this study. The control group should consist just of people who have received treatment from their programs before the implementation while the treatment group should consist of just people who have received treatment from their programs after the implementation.
Data Collection
The data collection for this experiment will consist of both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data will consist of retention rates to assess the percentage of patients going through and maintaining their treatment. On the other hand, the qualitative data will assess treatment success for each patient. In order to obtain this information researchers will obtain old patient records for the control group to assess this information, with complimentary follow up interviews for this group as well when information can’t be found. The data collection for the treatment group will consist of an initial questionnaire with follow up interviews to assess both treatment completion and recovery success as well. These can then be compared in order to compare how treatment at the InterCommunity Health facility before the implementation of ICAN Recover compares to after the implementation of the program.
For the new data collection initial interviews would be conducted to obtain pertinent information from the patient. After signing a confidentiality agreement and/or consent form, patients would provide information regarding demographics, previous treatments, length of drug or alcohol use/abuse. This longitudinal study would require follow-up interviews to assess retention rates, treatment success, and overall effectiveness. The follow up interviews should be conducted every 6 months in order to assess retention rates and treatment success factors. The duration of this experiment should be at least 5 years to collect comparable to new data that will compliment the records obtained from the control group. This study can therefore hopefully show an increase in treatment effectiveness and success since the implementation of the ICAN Recover program at InterCommunity health, in addition to providing some insight on what parts of the program are the strongest and if there is any room for improvement.
Outcome Measures
This research should ultimately demonstrate the effectiveness of treatment when the ICAN Recover model is implemented versus when it is not. This data could then aid in promoting awareness of this model’s benefits and make it something other facilities can adapt and implement for their own programs. The ideal goal of this study is to show that treatment is more successful with the implementation of the ICAN Recover model. Retention rates pulled from this data should show if the implementation of the ICAN Treatment is increasing the percent of people staying in and going through treatments to their full extent. This quantitative data can be complemented with the follow up surveys to assess their current treatment and substance use status to get more qualitative results as well making this experiment more meaningful. This study design allows for direct comparison as it is looking at data from the same facility just pre and post implementation of the treatment. The goal of this study will be to prove the improvements in treatment that has occured since the implementation of the ICAN Recover model at the InterCommunity Health facilities.
This research should show higher retention rates seen for people who go through the InterCommunity Health facilities programs after the implementation of ICAN Recover. Also, the follow up questionnaires should yield more successful treatment outcomes than those from before the implementation. This program was created with the goal in mind of improving the quality and consistency of care for their patients and hopefully the results from these study’s help prove that.