Barriers to Engaging and Retaining African- American Post-Partum Women in Drug Treatment

Abstract

Little is known about barriers to engaging and retaining African-American women in drug treatment. This descriptive study addressed three questions regarding barriers to substance abuse treatment for African-American women: What barriers made it difficult for women to participate in treatment? Did identified barriers differ by program modality? To what degree were barriers related to treatment retention? Findings revealed that barriers considered to be internal in nature, i.e., “drug severity,” “did not feel like going,” and “felt I could manage on my own,” were most frequently reported. Only a few program-related barriers were found to be related to length of time in treatment and both internal and programmatic barriers had an effect on treatment completion. Implications for policy decisions, future research, and clinical competence in addressing barriers to treatment for African-American women are discussed.