Drug Treatment Experiences: Rural and Urban Comparisons

Abstract

This study sought to investigate treatment-seeking behaviors among drug users in rural populations and how they compare to their urban counterparts. Data for this analysis were drawn from the Miami and Immokalee sites of the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Cooperative Agreement Program for AIDS outreachhtervention research study targeting high-risk out-of-treatment injection drug users and crack smokers. Findings indicate that Miami subjects were 2.57 times more likely to have been in drug treatment compared to their rural counterparts. This differential may be explained in terms of the availability, accessibility, and acceptability of health care services. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts Section of this issue.]

Key Words:

• Drug-user treatment
• Rural substance use
• Health care services
• Chronic drug users
• Migrant farm workers