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The impact of length of stay on recovery measures in faith‐based addiction treatment
Author(s) -
Lashley Mary
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
public health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.471
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1525-1446
pISSN - 0737-1209
DOI - 10.1111/phn.12401
Subject(s) - analysis of variance , repeated measures design , addiction , depression (economics) , medicine , faith , nicotine , sample size determination , psychology , gerontology , demography , clinical psychology , psychiatry , philosophy , statistics , mathematics , theology , sociology , economics , macroeconomics
Objective To determine the impact of length of stay among homeless men in faith‐based residential addictions recovery on physical activity, depression, self‐esteem, and nicotine dependence. Design and Sample A time series design was utilized to measure changes in the four quality measures at program entry and at 3, 6, and 9 months following admission. The sample consisted of 175 homeless residents enrolled in a faith‐based residential recovery program. Measures Paired t tests were used to determine the change in average instrument response from admission to each follow‐up period. Analysis of variance ( ANOVA ) and Tukey posthoc tests were used to assess for differences in length of stay between demographic variables. Results Statistically significant improvements were noted in self‐esteem and depressive symptomatology at 3 and 6 months following admission and in physical activity levels at 3 months following admission. Nicotine dependence scores declined at 3 and 6 months but were not statistically significant. Conclusion Time spent in this faith‐based spiritual recovery program had a significant impact on depression, self‐esteem, and physical activity. Recommendations for future study include conducting research to analyze the relationship between distinct program elements and quality indicators and comparing faith‐based programs to other similar programs and to publicly funded secular recovery programs.