Families as Partners in Homeless Drug Abuse Services

Principal Investigator: Michael Polgar, Ph.D
Funder:  National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA R03-DA14364-01)
Timeframe: 08/05/01-07/31/03
Affiliation: Center of Mental Health Services Research (CMHSR)

Project Staff:  David Pollio, PhD, Investigator                      
                        Carol North, M.D., M.P.E, Investigator

                        David Flomo, BA

                        Kevin Lotz, BSW

                        Godwin Dorvlo, BA

                        Mary Creech, RN

                        Catherine Wade, MSW

                        Vickie Osborne, MSW

Participating Organizations: SUNCODA Research Group (NIDA #R01-107713)

Project Contact:   Michael Polgar, Ph.D., PI, Coordinator

                              Phone: (570) 450-3103

                              Email: mfp11@psu.edu
                             
                                         
Project Update as of 04/23/2003:
Stage: Completed

Baseline Findings:

·         67% of homeless adults in St. Louis have a history of substance abuse disorder

·         Relatives of these individuals experience burden and stress, particularly regarding housing issues

·         Family members report they need more information about how to help, showing the need for empowerment and that the absence of information is one obstacle to resource mobilization.

·         Satisfaction with health care and family life is low

·         Social support for families is weak, particularly if homeless adults are dually diagnosed with a mental disorder

·         According to family members, the most helpful support for homeless adults comes from parents, siblings, social workers, counselors and doctors

·         Despite their family hardships, many respondents could identify positive by-products of their experience, a form of resilience among families under stress.

Description:

An experienced, multidisciplinary research team in social science and medicine is developing a family-based intervention against drug abuse, piloting this intervention, and developing methods that can be used to evaluate the success of this intervention.  This project strived to apply research to practice in order to reduce and reverse adverse consequences of drug abuse and homelessness.  The proposed interventions, empowering families as partners against drug abuse, was based on responsive educational groups for relatives of persons who are homeless and abusing drugs.

This project developed educational groups for 25 family pairs, one homeless person meeting diagnostic criteria for a drug abuse disorder and one close relative, helping families engage their drug abusing relatives in treatment and recovery.

Homeless adults have disproportionate rates of drug use disorders, especially those dually diagnosed with other mental disorders.  Drug use disorders are significantly associated with homelessness, early onset of homelessness, protracted homelessness, and housing instability.  However the homeless population does not fully utilize drug abuse treatment.  Previous research has identified family involvement as an important predictor of treatment outcomes and housing among homeless populations.  A variety of educational group intervention models for families have demonstrated effectiveness.

This project tested methods for assessing intervention outcomes, surveying both homeless individuals and their relatives before and after they attend multifamily groups.  For homeless drug abusers, this project measured primary outcomes, including severity of drug use disorder, housing status, and use of health and social services.  For relatives, this project measured secondary problems related to drug abuse, including family burdens, social support, social costs, health and social service use.  This study contributes to our knowledge of recovery from drug abuse in homeless populations, which can be improved by a strong and supported family.

Practice or Policy Implications:

·         Families can assist substance abuse prevention and treatment for homeless adults

·         Family-responsive educational groups can provide health education for these families

·         High rates of substance abuse and mental disorders create family stress and burden, which can be reduced through effective health education and prevention

Conference Presentations:

“Secondary Effects of Homelessness and Mental Illness: Family Stresses and Strengths,” Michael Pogar, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Conference, Washington D.C., March 2003

“Family Matter: Burdens and Benefits for Homeless Adults,” Michael Polgar, American Public Health Association (APHA), Philadelphia, PA, November 2002.

Please click here to view presentation. (Presentation is search result #1).Click here to view the PowerPoint presentation. (In PDF format)

“Homelessness and Mental Health: Consequences for Families.” Michael Polgar, American Sociological Association (ASA) Conference, Chicago, IL, August 2002

“A Theory of Family Consequences: Concepts and Measurement,” Michael Polgar, American Sociological Association (ASA) Conference, Annaheim CA, August 2001.

“Family Burden and Support Associated with Homeless Populations,” Michael Polgar, American Public Health Association APHA Conference, Boston MA, November 2000.